


Fairy Tail, Re-Write

by 1000percentDoneWithThisShist



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: BAMF Lucy Heartfilia, Because you don't go through years of conditioning, F/M, Gen, Happy acts like a cat, Heiress Lucy Heartfilia, Jude Heartfilia's A+ Parenting, Male-Female Friendship, Multi, Natsu has the insticts of a dragon, Natsu is possessive of everyone in the guild, Observant Happy (Fairy Tail), Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Protective Natsu Dragneel, She's different than canon, Team as Family, They are his kin and he will protect them at all costs, and NOT have it affect you in some way even after you leave, and living in a toxic environment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 26,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26502979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1000percentDoneWithThisShist/pseuds/1000percentDoneWithThisShist
Summary: A story in which Lucy has a harder time stepping away from the toxic mentality that followed her as an heiress even after she runs away.Or in which:- Happy is the therapist we all need in life.- Lucy wants so desperately to be free.- And Natsu just wants this weirdo who's quickly becoming his best friend (and perhaps more, he isn't sure yet and feelings were weird) to realize that it's alright to show emotions.
Relationships: Fairy Tail Guild & Lucy Heartfilia, Natsu Dragneel & Fairy Tail Guild, Natsu Dragneel & Gray Fullbuster & Lucy Heartfilia & Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel & Happy, Natsu Dragneel & Happy & Lucy Heartfilia, Natsu Dragneel & Lucy Heartfilia
Comments: 44
Kudos: 233





	1. Lady Lucy Heartfilia (aka childhood trauma doesn't just "go away")

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this story is cross-posted on Fanfiction.net under my username there of Caribbeanblue01500. I won't put this one on haitus unlike my other story in the HP fandom because at the moment, this is going to closely follow canon so I have an outline to work off of.

One sunny morning in Hargeon Town, a teenager named Natsu Dragoneel was having one of the worst days of his life.

" _Ugh, I hate trains!_ "

His companion, a blue cat named Happy, glanced at him with sympathy. "Hang in there, Natsu, we're almost at our stop."

Natsu groaned pitifully, face an unnatural shade of green. "Never again," he mumbled to himself, "I'll walk everywhere. I'll never take a train again. I refuse."

When the train stopped, Happy began flying around in excitement. "We've stopped, Natsu! Now you can stop acting lame and start looking for Igneel like we planned!" The cat was so excited to not have to deal with Natsu's motion-sickness, he flew out of the train car with the other passengers, not bothering to check and make sure that his human partner was behind him.

He noticed too late that Natsu wasn't with him.

" _The train will now leave Hargeon."_

Happy stared at the train that still had his best friend on it, dumbfounded. "Oh," he spoke, his tone completely neutral, "It left again."

At the same time, a girl with sunny blonde hair walked through Hargeon Town for the first time.

So far, she found she loved the bustling town, with all of its attractions and views. The only thing that exasperated her was the lack of magic stores. For a town near some of the largest and most famous magic guilds in the world, she had found only one magic store. And even that store had a very limited range in what they sold.

She gave a polite smile to the store owner who tried to rip her off in a way that was so obvious, it offended her. She felt irritated at him but kept her smile plastered on her face by pure willpower and years of training.

"Mister," she began, her tone holding a bit of a simper in it, "I know that I can simply move on and travel to the next magic store, and buy the same key for half the price you're selling it to me." The man gulped, and her smile took on a darker undertone. "So, I'll ask you again: what was the price for this key?"

In the end, he sold her the key for thirteen thousand jewels. Lucy gave him a small but genuine smile, thanking him as she left the store.

She started walking around aimlessly, wondering if she wanted to shop further, or simply find a place to eat when a crowd drew her attention.

" _Oh, it's Salamander-sama!"_

" _Oh, he's so handsome!"_

" _I want him to burn me!"_

Despite her better judgment, Lucy's curiosity got the better of her and she decided to go and see what the whole commotion was about. "Salamander… isn't he the mage who can use fire magic you can't buy in stores?"

In the middle of a crown of swooning females stood a male who looked to be in his mid-thirties. He had dark blue hair swept to one side and a nice-looking smile. It wasn't enough to justify the reactions he was getting, however. Lucy wondered if he was supposed to be famous.

But then the mage stared her directly in the eyes and smirked. For some weird reason, Lucy felt her heart thump in the way it always did when she read romance novels. Her face flushed, and she realized that she found the man incredibly attractive. She could easily see why so many girls acted like this if it was so easy to become infatuated with him.

"Igneel! Is that you?!" a joyful voice called out. Someone from behind her bumped into her and shook her out of her reverie.

A closer look showed the man held many rings on his fingers. He was using ring magic, Lucy realized with disgust, to attract all of the females. She could easily recognize one of the rings, Charm. He was using illegal magic.

A glance around showed that she was the only female who had broken out of the spell.

The new figure, a pink-haired male, looked at the mage in disappointment. "Who're you?" he asked bluntly, much to the ire of the other females still under the charm. Lucy wondered whether or not she should warn the man to be careful with what he said.

The Salamander flails for a moment, personally offended, before he quickly recovers. Lucy thinks, rather pettily, that he looks rather dumb, still miffed at being taken advantage of.

"If I said Salamander, would that ring a bell?"

It was no use; for the pink-haired male had already begun to walk off, no longer interested now that he knew that this 'Igneel' wasn't there.

Salamander yelps, flabbergasted, "He's already leaving!"

Two rabid fangirls caught up to him and pummeled him into the ground. Lucy winced, promising herself to at least buy the poor guy a bag of ice to put on his bruises. She felt guilty for not warning the teen. It was too late to help him now, for her interference would only rile the females up further.

"What's wrong with you guys?!" the guy cried out in dismay, and Lucy bit her lip to stop herself from saying anything.

Salamander stood at a distance, waving them away from the poor male. "Now, now, leave him be. I'm sure he didn't mean any harm by what he said."

Lucy narrowed her eyes at him. He could have stopped them at any time he wanted. He let them beat the teenager up on purpose because he felt slighted. He was disgusting.

Salamander handed the teen a poster with his signature on it. "This is my autograph; feel free to show it off to your friends."

The teen looked at it in disgust. "I don't want it," was his immediate response.

Lucy suppressed a cringe when she saw the females dump the male in the trash.

"I have business at the next port," Salamander tells his fans, "So I'm afraid I'll have to bid you adieu." After he left, the crowd of females quickly dispersed.

Lucy stuck around, helping to pull the male from the trash.

"You might not realize it, but you got me out of a tough spot back there." She smiled at him, helping to brush off the excess dirt and garbage. "That man was a real creep, wasn't he? Thank you for that." Her smile turned slightly more pained. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you when those girls were beating you up. How about I buy a meal for you and your cat as thanks?"

* * *

Lucy was glad she had the foresight to bring them to a more informal place. So far, both the human and the cat had dug into their meals like a pack of ravenous wolves, flinging food everywhere. It was a bit disconcerting if Lucy was being honest.

"So…your names are Natsu and Happy, right? My name is Lucy. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Aye!" the blue cat chimed in, sounding like his namesake. Lucy felt a genuine smile forming at such a bright demeanor.

"Thank you for the food!" Natsu practically yelled at her, digging in with gusto.

"Don't mention it," she giggled nervously, waving him off, _especially since you accidentally spit food at me whenever you do._

Lucy looked at them with curiosity. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you two doing here in Hargeon? I thought I heard you mention someone named 'Igneel' back there."

"Yep!" Natsu gave a toothy grin. "We're looking for him. He's a fire dragon!"

Lucy blinked in shock. "Like, an actual dragon?"

"Aye, sir!" Happy piped up.

Lucy pressed her lips together in thought, unsure of how to tactfully bring up what she wanted to say. "But if he's a dragon, then why look for him in a town? People would notice if a large dragon was flying above their heads and then they'd make a scene out of it. If Igneel is trying to hide, he'd probably avoid populated places."

Natsu and Happy stared at her in shock as the realization struck them. Lucy didn't bother to point it out. She realized that they must not think things through a lot.

"I might not look like much," she began, trying to stomp down her insecurities bubbling up inside of her, "But I'm a mage. I was traveling through Hargeon because there's this one guild I want to join." She sighed and unknowingly gave a giddy smile as she thought about Fairy Tail. "But they're super popular and I'm sure they're really hard to join. But I promised myself that someday I'll grow strong enough that I'll be able to work side by side with them as a member of their guild."

She gestured to her plate that lay mostly untouched. She ran away from home months ago, and yet the diet from before had a hold on her. She still ate tiny portions, no matter how much she tried to bring herself to eat more. "Do you want my food? I'm not feeling very hungry."

"Really?! Thanks, Luigi!"

"It's Lucy."

She narrowed her eyes. She was unsure if he was trying to be rude on purpose, but decided to let it go. He seemed genuine enough…

"I'm happy you bumped into me," she spoke up, "That man from before was being a total creep. Do you wonder why those girls were acting so crazy over nothing?"

Natsu groaned, holding his head as if it was still throbbing. "Ugh, don't remind me. They were totally insane!"

Lucy hissed in sympathy. "It was because that guy was using illegal ring magic, Charm. He was using it on those girls and if you hadn't bumped into me and helped me break out of his spell, he would have been able to take advantage of me. Unfortunately, I can't go to the Magic Council to report him without sufficient evidence, so I can only hope that he'll use the charms for petty reasons."

She sighed, placing several bills down on the table. "I should get going. Thank you again for helping me out before; I wish you both luck on your search for Igneel."

She turned around and was just about to head out the door when she heard a voice shout behind her.

" _Thank you for your kindness!"_

" _Kindness!"_

Both Natsu and Happy were prostrating themselves on the floor in genuine gratitude. Lucy flushed in embarrassment, but couldn't find it in herself to be truly mad at them when they were just being honest.

She kept her voice as level as possible because raising her voice would only draw further attention on themselves, which was the opposite of what she wanted. "Please stand up. You're drawing a lot of attention and it's a bit embarrassing. I bought your food because I wanted to and it was my way of saying thanks—you don't need to thank me for it."

She looked on in dawning horror as Happy seemed to tear up a bit, unsure of what she said that could have offended him. _"Luuccyyyyy! You're so nice!"_

Natsu nodded emphatically in agreement.

Quickly, he took out the signed poster of the Salamander. "Here, have this as thanks!"

Lucy stared at him coolly, unimpressed. "Who would want something like that?"

The next moment, she smiled at them apologetically. "I'm sorry, I was being rather rude just now, wasn't I? No, I do not want the poster, but thank you for the offer. I'm going, but I already paid for all of our food, so take your time."

She left before they could say another word.

About half an hour later, she found herself sprawled out on a park bench. Her nanna would have been horrified to see her in such an undignified position.

Truth be told, Lucy still found it weird to be acting like this. Her father would have slapped her if he saw her act in such a manner in public. But now he wasn't there, and Lucy was free to act as undignified as she wanted, going back on years of training. It was both freeing and uncomfortable.

In her hands held a magazine—another girlish thing she was learning to let herself indulge in. Beforehand, whatever she saw or read was strictly monitored by her father and his staff. She was encouraged to indulge in girly things, but only the things that were appropriate for a ' _young lady of her breeding and status_ '. Something as unrefined as a magazine, complete with stories about hooligans and pictures of scantily-clad women were to never sully her hands, lest she begins behaving as boorishly as the people in the stories.

Lucy found she rather liked magazines. Unfortunately, she knew there were men out there who simply bought the magazines for the pictures of the models. And sure, the models were supposed to be sexy, but Lucy simply thought of them as beautiful. It was inspiring, the way they seemed so comfortable in their bodies and their self-worth to let strangers take pictures with so much skin showing.

For a time, Lucy wanted to wear scantily-clad clothing. It was revenge, for all the dresses that choked her and left her dizzy. For all of the comments on her figure from business partners, telling her father that he was lucky to have someone so pretty as her as a daughter. Potential suitors wouldn't care how dumb she was, they said, not when they could look at such a pretty face.

She wanted to wear the same type of clothing her father told her would turn her into a harlot and send him a postcard, showing him how far his daughter had fallen.

But in the end, she found that she couldn't. Whenever she tried to put on a short skirt, she would hear the voices (sometimes of her father, other times of the equally toxic business partners and nobility frequently attending parties) in her head calling her a slut. They laughed when men stared at her with hunger in their gaze, mockingly asking her why she seemed so upset? She _must_ have wanted their eyes if she was dressed in such a manner.

So, she wore more modest outfits. The most she allowed herself were that her skirts reached no higher than mid-thigh and that her top gently hugged her curves. It was enough to scandalize her father but didn't leave her feeling dirty.

It was why she adored Fairy Tail.

They were infamous for all of the reckless situations they got themselves into. They were a rowdy bunch and seemed to live life to the fullest despite all of the trouble they gave the Magic Council for property damage. They were free in a way that Lucy could only dream of being.

She let out a small laugh as she read some of the stories. "My oh my, Fairy Tail is being as destructive as usual. But how does one get into a guild such as theirs, I wonder…"

"So you want to join Fairy Tail?"

Lucy scowled for a moment, recognizing the voice, before smoothing out her features and turning to face them. "Mister Salamander; how may I help you?"

The man gave a pose, much to her irritation. She didn't want to have to talk to this person for longer than she had to. He leaned in, and she began to subtly scoot away from him.

"I was looking for you." He gave a suave smile, brandishing his rings. Lucy narrowed her eyes at him at the gesture. "I wanted to personally invite you to the party on my ship."

She stood firm. "Thank you, but no thank you. You should know as well as me if you're using ring magic that Charm's weak point is awareness, meaning that you can't use it on me since I know it's being used."

Salamander smirked at her. "I knew it. I realized when we first met that you were a wizard. No matter, as long as you attend the party."

Lucy gave him a cool stare. "Why would I want to attend the party of a _creep_ who would use illegal magic to charm girls?"

He looked at her, offended. "I'm a creep?"

"You. Use. Illegal. Magic. To. Take. Advantage. Of. Others."

He still looked offended, and Lucy gave a great sigh. "Why would you go so far to be popular, anyway? It's not like you're ugly, and you have a rather nice smile. I'm sure you could charm girls just the same if you put a bit of effort into it."

He stared at her, surprised at her words.

Glancing around awkwardly, he quickly cleared his throat. "You wanted to join Fairy Tail, didn't you? Have you ever heard of Fairy Tail's Salamander?"

"I have," she replied, feeling a bit baffled, "Are you telling me that you are a Fairy Tail mage?"

He grinned at her, "That is exactly what I'm saying. If you're looking to join, I can put in a good word with the Guild Master." His grin turned sly. "Of course, you'd have to join the party. Right now, I barely know you and I don't want to bring in someone who wouldn't be a good fit."

Lucy let her posture slump slightly. "Alright then," she spoke, her voice somewhat wary, "I'll join your party, but only if you answer my previous question."

"And which question was that, my dear?"

She decided to ignore the pet name for the time being. "Why go so far to be popular?"

Salamander gave an uncharacteristic, bashful grin. "It's because I'm not good with people," he explained, "No matter how hard I try, I always get tongue-tied whenever I try to speak to someone new. By using Charm, people already like me, and I don't have to worry about messing up."

Despite herself, Lucy felt her expression softening. She understood feeling like she didn't fit in—like she was the odd one out. The actions he took were rather reprehensible, yet she understood why he did it. "I get it," she spoke softly, "Really, I do. It's why I won't turn you into the Magic Council this time. I'll go to the party, but you should figure out a way besides using magic to charm people into liking you."

Salamander left with a hurried thanks, the tips of his ears a light shade of red.

* * *

Natsu couldn't help but stare at the blonde who had stayed behind to check on him as she began picking out pieces of garbage from his hair, grimacing as she did so. He didn't understand why she was apologizing to him, but she offered him food and he was never one to turn down a free meal.

She was pretty, he supposed. He practically lived in a guild where their barmaid was a regular model for Sorcerer's Weekly, and many of the females could objectively be considered as 'beautiful'. He didn't care about appearances, like many of the other men in his guild.

No, the first thing he noticed about her was her scent.

It was nice, calming. It was light and floral, with a hint of spice. Earthy. She didn't wear obnoxious perfumes like other females (Natsu hated those the most, they burnt his nose and made his eyes water). Instead, her scent was from whatever brand of body wash she used (probably from the previous night, given how clean she smelled).

The next thing he noticed was how _weird_ she was.

Her speech seemed a bit formal but became even more noticeable when she took them out for lunch.

Natsu knew that he and Happy severely lacked in manners. He could eat more slowly, and savor his food if he wanted to, but the food was food and he never had the patience to take his time when he was hungry. On the other hand, the blonde girl, Lucy, sat with her back straight and would lightly sip at her tea. Her expression remained mild, never changing much, and Natsu thought that it made her look like some sort of life-sized doll.

The way she talked was weird as well as if Natsu had found the female version of Freed (he wondered if she was as much of a bookworm as his guildmate). She was always so polite, and never seemed to get mad at either Happy or himself when all the other girls at his guild would try to reprimand him (or smack some sense into him in the case of Erza) for his usually insensitive comments.

If he was being honest, if she hadn't blurted out that she wanted to join Fairy Tail, he never would have assumed a person like her would have a goal such as that. Sure, she was weird, but she seemed as composed as a person could be, and Natsu just couldn't see her throwing down with the others whenever a fight broke out. In fact, he wasn't completely convinced that she could get _angry_ enough to want to fight someone.

Of course, he wasn't going to whine about the idea of gaining a new member. Even if she was weird, she was also nice, going so far as to let Natsu have her serving of food instead of saving it for later. Lucy was also smart; Natsu could tell. But she wasn't overly annoying about it like Laxus or Jet and Droy.

And even her weirdness, itself (the way she seemed so calm and collected, so _stoic_ as if she muted her emotions and expressions), wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Natsu sometimes wished he could be as serene as she seemed to be.

"She was weird, wasn't she, Happy?"

His companion turned to give him a grin, licking off the final scraps from his plate. "She really was," he agreed instantly, "But she was nice and bought me fish, so I like her."

"Once we're done searching the area, if we run into her again, how about we take her with us to Fairy Tail? She's weird so she'll fit right in."

Happy gave him a thumbs up. "Yeah, let's do that! I want her to buy me fish again!"

Before they continued on their search for Natsu's dad, they stopped at the shore to stare out into the ocean (the same way Igneel would do if they were by a sea). Unfortunately, a ship along the horizon had to ruin the view.

" _Hngh!"_

"Don't get sick by simply _looking_ at the boat!"

" _Did you hear?"_

" _What?"_

" _That's where the Salamander is throwing his party."_

" _Who's the Salamander?"_

" _How do you not know him?! He's a famous wizard from Fairy Tail!"_

Natsu's gaze snapped to the two people conversing. "Fairy Tail…?" he growled under his breath, his expression dark.

He had Happy fly him over to the ship.

He knew automatically, before he even hit the deck, that something bad was going on. All of the females were asleep and tied up. The only one awake was Lucy. Several men were grabbing her to keep her still, and Natsu found himself shocked at how angry she was.

Oh, her expression was still neutral, but her eyes burned like a supernova.

"Lucy!" Happy exclaimed in shock, "What are you doing here? What's going on?"

When she spoke, her voice was tight with restrained fury. "This man lured females onto this ship using his illegal charm magic, then put them all to sleep. He's a slave trader and was about to sail off and sell everyone on the black market back in Bosco."

Natsu felt a snarl rose in his throat. He had already decided to bring Lucy to the guild, which meant that she was family. And Natsu didn't take it very well whenever someone wanted to hurt his family.

Unfortunately, the moment he landed on the ship, he knew he was down for the count. The only consolation he had was that Lucy didn't yell at him or call him lame.

Pushing through his motion-sickness, he managed to shout at Happy. "Happy! Take Lucy and fly her away from here!"

"Aye, sir!"

Blue paws grabbed Lucy and together they flew through the air, dodging the attacks the fake Salamander threw at them.

* * *

Lucy blinked in muted shock as she saw the people on the boat grow smaller and smaller. "I didn't know you had wings, Happy."

"I'll explain it to you later; we have to run away right now!"

Lucy frowned minutely at the sight of Natsu being beaten up by the men on the ship. "Is it alright to leave Natsu by himself down there with all those men? He seemed pretty seasick, and I don't know if he'll be able to defend himself."

Happy shrugged. "He's motion-sick. He's like this if he so much as sits on a train. Besides, I can't carry two people." The words were spoken callously, but Lucy could feel the way that Happy had gripped her tighter. He was worried about Natsu, just like she was.

Lucy patted his paw in comfort. "Thank you, Happy, for being so brave and bringing me to safety even if we have to temporarily leave Natsu alone. If we manage to survive this, I'll buy you another fish."

Happy sniffled, but Lucy chose not to comment on it. "Thank you; you're really nice."

Lucy scanned over the expanse of water. "Hey, Happy, can you drop me in the ocean?"

"What?" Happy yelped. "Are you crazy?! We're supposed to be bringing you to safety!"

"I'm a celestial mage. That man threw my keys in the ocean. If I grab them, I will be able to help Natsu."

Lucy gave Happy a firm nod when he asked her once more if she truly wanted him to drop her. "Once you drop me, you can fly back and help Natsu. I can handle myself from here on out."

"Stay safe, Lushi!"

Lucy gave an exasperated yet fond smile at the (admittedly adorable) butchering of her name. Happy let go and she drew into a dive with a graceful arc.

Without hesitation, she began swimming in pursuit of her keys. She might not have seen where her keys have landed, but she knew instinctively where to look. They were _her_ keys—the keys she took months and years to forge a bond with. They trusted her and she trusted them. Lucy could feel their magic calling out to her.

Lucy felt a trickle of fear run down her spine: Aquarius wasn't too pleased she had let some loser toss her keys into the ocean. She would be even angrier when Lucy summoned her.

"Gate of the Water Bearer, I open thee! Aquarius!"

Lucy felt her heart swell with fondness as the temperamental mermaid appeared, even if another part of her wondered how long it would take her to completely dry off after this interaction.

Aquarius hadn't immediately blown up at her, so Lucy took the chance to talk first. "Firstly, I apologize for letting them get the best of me and being able to throw your keys in the ocean. I will take any reasonable punishment you see fit; however, there are people on that boat we have to help. There are dozens of innocent girls who are about to be taken away to be sold off into slavery. And someone who's helped me twice now is fighting them when he's completely outnumbered."

"Tch," Aquarius growled at Lucy, "I was in the middle of a _date_. Something you'll never experience."

Aquarius looked at Lucy for a moment longer, before she scowled at her celestial wizard. "Fine! But you'll owe me! Don't summon me for at least a month!"

"Okay, then," Lucy agreed easily. Aquarius was acting nicer than normal, and she didn't want to push her luck. "But please try to keep the damage to the ports to a minimum; there are families whose sole financial income comes from the shops along the shore."

Oh well, she'd push her luck a bit.

Aquarius gave a furious glower but didn't say anything. Lucy decided to take her silence as an agreement. Holding a deep breath, she allowed herself to get swept along with the ship as it crashed against the shore.

Gasping in pain, she inwardly groaned at the thought of the massive bruise on her back that was bound to form within a day or so. "Thank you, Aquarius."

The mermaid scoffed. "I was aiming for you; the ship just happened to get swept up along the way. Oh, and by the way…" Lucy, despite years of training to never outwardly show emotion, gulped as she began feeling killing intent radiating off of her spirit. "If you ever drop my key again, _you will regret it._ " Aquarius' voice dropped to a low growl. " **Do you understand me?** "

"Ah…y-yes, ma'am."

"Good." Her spirit gave her a snide look. "Now if you don't mind me, I'll be going back to my _boyfriend_ now."

Lucy slumped from where she was sitting. "You don't have to rub it in. I know my love-life is as interesting as one of my father's meetings."

"Bye. Call me again in less than a month and I'll murder you."

After her spirit disappeared, Lucy saw Happy floating above the wreckage and silently scolded herself for nearly forgetting the reason why she had summoned Aquarius in the first place.

"Natsu!" Lucy cupped her hands and called out to him from a distance, wanting to make sure that he and Happy were alright. The blue cat saw her and quickly flew to her side.

"Lucy! Are you alright?"

She nodded in agreement. "Don't worry about me; I just have a few bruises. How about you two? Does Natsu need any more help?"

Happy looked at her in surprise. "You were the reason why the ship crashed!"

Lucy gave a tiny smile, proud of the amazing things that her celestial spirits could accomplish. "I told you, didn't I? I am a celestial wizard, meaning I have a spirit for almost every occasion. I have a spirit called Aquarius. She was the one to create that large wave."

She looked once more at where Natsu stood. "Is Natsu able to handle so many people at one time?"

"Aye." Happy landed on her shoulder, taking in the scene before them. And since he didn't seem too worried about his friend, Lucy assumed that Natsu had the situation handled, content to sit this one out and nurse her growing bruises. "Natsu is actually a wizard."

"I can't say that I'm surprised. I had the sneaking suspicion that was the case."

"You're a Fairy Tail wizard?" Natsu growled out, his voice strong enough to be heard from where the celestial mage was standing.

"And what's it to you?!" the fake Salamander demanded.

Happy gasped as if he had an epiphany. "I remember this guy now! His name is Bora the Prominence. He was thrown out of the guild Titan Nose a while ago."

Bora smirked at Natsu, calling out to his goons. "Get 'em, boys!"

Natsu gave a savage grin, throwing off his vest and displaying his guild mark. Lucy felt her eyes widen in shock, glancing at Happy. "You're members of Fairy Tail?"

Happy gave her a conspiratorial grin. " _Aye._ "

The men about to face Natsu stopped, looking at his guild mark with both awe and fear. "That's the real thing, boss!"

Natsu looked like some sort of demon, Lucy thought, like from the stories she read as a child. But this time, he would be a protective demon, rather than a destructive one, and found herself silently rooting him on.

"I don't know whether or not you're a good guy or a bad guy," he growled out, murder in his voice, "but I won't forgive you for wearing Fairy Tail's name like a decoration!"

Bora scoffed in derision. "And what are you going to do about it?" He shot out a vortex of fire to consume the area where Natsu stood. "Prominence Typhoon!"

At the thought of her strange, new friend being burned alive, Lucy's calm façade cracked. "Natsu!" she screamed out in terror. She took an unconscious step forward, but Happy stopped her before she could move any further.

"Don't worry, Lucy," Happy spoke in her ear, calming her down. He eyed the spot where Natsu stood, his gaze trusting. "It would take much more than that to defeat him."

From within the flame, Natsu's voice spoke out. "Are you sure you're a fire wizard? These are some of the most disgusting flames that I have ever tasted!" Within moments, he had consumed all the flames.

Bora stares, shocked.

Lucy wasn't faring much better. "He just…he just ate fire…like it was nothing."

Natsu gave a dark smirk, looking nearly feral. "Actually, on the topic of whether or not you're a bad guy—I've decided!" If possible, his expression turned even more vicious. "You see, it was already decided that this weirdo," at that, he pointed at Lucy, "was going to join Fairy Tail, which makes her family. And Fairy Tail isn't too kind to people who try to hurt their family."

The speech made her feel warm and fuzzy to the point where Lucy decided to overlook the fact that he had called her a weirdo. She decided to overlook a lot of things. Today had been a very trying day for her and she wanted to sleep for about a week to process everything that had happened so far.

So of course, she asks more questions. "What type of mage is he? I've never seen magic like that."

Happy grins at her, as if he was telling a secret. "It's a type of ancient magic capable of turning parts of the body into that of a dragon's. We call it Dragon Slayer magic. Natsu is a fire dragon slayer."

Lucy looked at the fight below them thoughtfully, calm once more with the knowledge that Natsu wasn't in any immediate danger. "If he deals with fire, then…Happy, he's the real Salamander, isn't he?"

Happy's shit-eating grin said more than words ever could, and Lucy felt a small smirk form on her face as well. Normally, she wasn't one for any sort of excessive violence, but she would enjoy seeing Bora getting beaten. He had tried to kill Natsu, seeing as he had no idea that the pink-haired mage could be resistant to fire. As far as Lucy was concerned, he would deserve it if he got beaten up.

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" His punch to Bora's jaw sent him flying through several buildings.

"And it's a knockout!" Happy commented from beside her.

Lucy turned to the town, and if she were a lesser of a person, she would have gawked at the destruction the one attack caused the town.

Too busy admiring and despairing at the damage, she nearly missed the footsteps of the knights.

"The military?" She mumbled in growing unease.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her by the wrist. Natsu began running, pulling her along behind them. "Crap, let's get out of here! We'll get in trouble at this rate!"

"Excuse me, but why are you taking me with you?"

"What kind of stupid question is that, you absolute weirdo? You wanted to join our guild, yeah?"

And Lucy gave him the biggest smile that she's seen in years. It was still comparably smaller than Natsu's and his sunny grins, but it held the weight of the stars, themselves, behind them. "I agree; let's go to Fairy Tail."


	2. Fire, Monkey, Bull (aka Natsu vs. Perverts)

Lucy couldn't help but smile as the trio made their way to Fairy Tail's doors.

Stepping inside, she couldn't help but wonder, "From the rumors I heard, I expected there to be bar fights or something similar. It seems so peaceful here."

Happy snickered into his paw. "It's the calm before the storm."

"We're back!" Natsu shouted at the guild. As one, the other members turned to them with bright smiles. "Welcome home!"

And _oh_ , that hit Lucy in a way that she never felt before. _Home._ Fairy Tail was a patchwork family and might become a place where even _she_ could belong.

"Lucy? Are you okay?"

Startled out of her reverie, she turned to see Happy staring at her in concern. "You were staring off into space for a moment, there…"

Smiling gently, she brushed off his worries. "I'm fine, Happy. I was just thinking about something for a moment." When it looked like the cat still wanted to say more, Lucy tried to distract him. "Besides, didn't I promise you that I would buy you another fish as thanks for saving me back on that ship? I couldn't bear to call myself a Celestial Wizard if I went back on my word."

Happy stared at her for a long moment, knowing that she was trying to distract him before he nodded and gave her a smile. People thought he was oblivious because he constantly acted cheerfully, but he knew how to observe.

But Lucy said she was fine (and she didn't look to be too worried about it), so Happy decided to let the matter drop.

Instead, he grabbed her by the hand and led her over to Mirajane. Hopefully, if she was at the bar, she would be out of the immediate danger zone from when Natsu inevitably started another fight.

* * *

Mirajane was even prettier in the flesh if that were even possible. Lucy stared at her flawless skin and wondered what type of morning or night routine she had to have used to look the way she did.

"Hello," she spoke, giving a polite smile to the barmaid, "My name is Lucy."

"Nice to meet you, Lucy!" Mirajane cried out jovially, drying some glasses.

"Nice to meet you, too. You're even prettier in person. I'm a big fan of yours; I always think that you look rather beautiful in your photoshoots." At any other time, Lucy would have been embarrassed at saying such bold words out loud. At the moment, however, she was too busy staring at the pretty barmaid with stars sparkling in her eyes to care.

"Oh, that's very sweet of you! I'm happy to know that someone like you is my fan. Is there anything that I can get you?"

Leaning down, Lucy whispered to Happy, "What type of fish do you suggest I order?"

"Mirajane makes a really good grilled salmon."

"I'll have grilled salmon and whatever Happy normally orders here."

The barmaid giggled, "Coming right up!"

Happy and Lucy turned to see Natsu stalking toward someone in the crowd. Happy giggled almost evilly into his paw, looking highly amused. Lucy couldn't help but smile slightly at his amusement.

"You bastard, you lied about your information about the Salamander!"

"How could I know whether it was true or not?! I've just told you some rumors I've heard going around!"

Natsu became angrier. "WHAT'D YOU SAY?!"

The man stood up, slamming his hands on the table. "YOU WANNA GO?!"

Natsu throws a punch, causing the man to crash into the middle of a poker game, much to the indignation of the other players. Within moments, entire tables and chairs were being thrown around the guild hall as over half the members were dragged into the fight.

Lucy stared at the fight in amusement, sipping casually at the water that Mira had handed over to her. "They're certainly a lively bunch."

"Aye!"

"Huh?" A dark-haired mage spoke up. He, to the surprise of Lucy, had neglected to wear a shirt. "Natsu's back?" A moment later, he gave a playful snarl (and it was playful because Lucy did not learn how to deflect thinly-veiled insults from her father's acquaintances only to be unable to recognize when someone was insincere). "We're gonna finish what we started, Natsu!"

And _oh, look,_ he's taking off his _pants_ as well _._

A brunette sitting beside Lucy, _and wow, she drank a lot,_ turned towards the semi-naked man. "Gray…your clothes…"

The man looked down at his appearance and squawked, seeming to be surprised at his lack of clothing. " **Oh, dammit!** "

The woman sighed, put out. "This is why the men here have no class." And with that note, she went back to drinking.

After a few moments of futile struggle, the man named Gray seemed to give up on finding his clothes before Lucy could offer her assistance. "Come fight me, Natsu!"

"Put on some clothes, first!" The pink-haired pyromaniac shouted back.

A man with a rather intimidating figure stepped up to the fray, his arms crossed. "All this crying and whining, and it's not even noon yet. What a bunch of kids!" He seemed saner than the rest, but Lucy was going to wait to hold her judgment. So far, from what she's witnessed, everyone at Fairy Tail had at least _one thing_ wrong with them (except for Mirajane. Mirajane was an absolute goddess). "Real men fight with their fists!"

And she took back her comment on his sanity. He was encouraging the fight. She didn't mind the insanity, however, it was what drew her to the guild after all.

Gray and Natsu turned from where they were duking it out to simultaneously punch the white-haired man in the face, causing him to fly backward. "YOU'RE IN THE WAY!"

Lucy blinked at how easily the large man was defeated. "I would think it takes more than one hit to knock out a man of that size." Happy snickered behind his paw, and Lucy gave him a mildly reproachful look. "It's not nice to laugh at others' expense."

Happy, in turn, looked mildly contrite, but Lucy knew that he wouldn't stop. "But Lushi, shouldn't you laugh at funny things?"

Lucy gave a small sigh and a resigned smile. "Something tells me you're a little hellion, aren't you?"

"That's not fair, I'm not _Natsu_!"

"True."

Mirajane giggled from behind the counter, turning Lucy's attention towards her. "Happy really seems to have taken a shine to you, hasn't he?"

Lucy gave a dainty shrug. "I wouldn't have any idea whether that was true or not; I've only known Natsu and Happy for a day. But they saved me and took me to Fairy Tail because they found out I wanted to join. So I might not have known them for long, but I _do_ know that Happy is a very brave cat and I'm lucky to have met him."

Mirajane had an unbearably soft look in her eyes while Happy seemed to have grown a bit teary. "Lushi…!" He glomped on her in a hug. "I'm really glad to have met you, too!"

Lucy gently shook him off. "You should finish your food before it gets cold."

Mirajane was smiling brightly once more. "You would be an amazing addition to Fairy Tail, Lucy! How about the two of us talk to the master once he gets here and we'll set you up with your own guild mark."

Lucy's expression softened further, her lips twitching into a small smile. "That sounds wonderful Mirajane, thank you."

During the time that Lucy took her eyes off of Gray, he managed to lose his underwear as well. No, not lose, _because sweet mother of Mavis, was that Natsu twirling his boxers around like some sort of flag?!_ Blushing, Lucy averted her gaze. She knew, theoretically, that she would have to get used to seeing others in various states of undress at Fairy Tail, but to see a man _completely naked_ left her feeling a bit uncomfortable.

As it turned out, that was a mistake. In the end, he walked up to her, anyway, and she was taken off guard because she didn't see him coming.

"Excuse me, Miss, but do you mind if I borrow your underwear?"

She glared at him incredulously, heat burning her cheeks due to embarrassment and anger. But he was a man and her life as the Heartfilia heiress left her woefully underprepared for when it came to physical altercations. Luckily, Happy had been nearby and came to her rescue.

Sort of.

"NATSU!" The blue cat screamed. "GRAY WAS _JUST_ BEING A SHAMELESS PERVERT! HE WALKED UP TO LUCY NAKED AND ASKED TO BORROW HER UNDERWEAR!"

Instantly, all of the other females and many of the other males stopped their fighting to scowl at the naked mage.

His eyes widened and he paled as if realizing the gravity of his situation.

Natsu growled a sound that echoed low in his throat. "I'm going to kick 'yer ass…"

But before Natsu could burn down half the guild in his next attack, a voice boomed at them from above. " **STOP IT, YOU FOOLS!** "

Lucy let out a squeak of surprise at the sheer _size_ of what had to have been the guild master, more than a bit intimidated. A glance towards Mirajane, however, eased her worries when the barmaid simply shook her head with a soft smile.

"Oh, you were here, master?"

Natsu, the lovable idiot (something Lucy was realizing more and more with every passing second), took no notice of the guild master. "HAHA! YOU'RE SCARED STIFF, GRAY! VICTORY WILL BE MI—" The master stepped on him, causing him to crash through the wooden floor.

Lucy gulped, realizing that this guild was rather violent.

But once again, Happy didn't look worried about his friend, and so that meant that this had to happen more often than not. She took a deep breath and felt herself calming.

"Master! Master!" Mirajane cried out in happiness, "Look, we have someone wanting to join our guild!"

"Oh? A newbie?"

Lucy shook her head in acknowledgment. "Yes, sir. I've wanted to join for quite a while now."

The master gave her a smile and shrunk, _and shrunk and shrunk and shrunk_ until he was barely half her height. "Glad to have you on board!" he greeted jovially, "My name is Makarov!"

"Nice to meet you as well, my name is Lucy."

The next several minutes had the master berating several of the guild members. Lucy decided to not pay too much attention to the stories themselves; she was brand new to the guild and had no idea if some of the people would have felt embarrassed to have her hear of their shortcomings when it came to missions. In the end, she learned a few new names such as _Loke, Cana,_ and _Elfman._

"Finally, Natsu," Master Makarov doesn't even glance at the papers. "You destroyed the Devon Thief Troupe, but also destroyed seven houses. Then you leveled a clock tower in Tully, burned down a church in Freesia, destroyed a wing of Lupinus Castle, collapsed the ravine observatory in Nazuna, and while you seemed to have really held back, Hargeon Port has claimed some serious damages."

"Um, master?" Lucy spoke up and felt irritated at how weak her voice sounded, ignoring the eyes of everyone else in the guildhall. "Master?" she spoke up, louder.

"Yes, my dear?"

"Hargeon Port wasn't Natsu's fault, but mine. I was trying to help, but I had only one Celestial Spirit who could have helped given the situation. And even though I tried my best to keep damages to a minimum, she can be particularly temperamental. I'm sorry for any trouble that I caused you, but I ask that you please don't punish Natsu for any of my mistakes." She gave a bow, waiting for his answer with bated breath.

Master Makarov gave a full-bellied laugh, causing Lucy to suck in a sharp breath of air, no longer feeling as nervous as she had been before. "Owning up to your own shortcomings to keep your comrades safe is a very admirable trait to have, Lucy. But worry not, my child, because Fairy Tail is a family and we do not punish others for minor slip-ups."

Lucy straightened, giving the master a nod in acknowledgment.

"LISTEN UP, YOU BRATS! Property damage after property damage has left the Magic Council furious with me! However… the Magic Council can go screw themselves!" He lit the papers on fire and threw them away, allowing Natsu to catch and eat them.

"Magic is an unreasonable power, but it is born from reason. It is not a nonsensical miracle. It is the combination of the spirit that flows within us and the spirit that flows in nature, incarnated into physical form! You need a sturdy mind and a steady concentration—magic is the pouring out of one's entire soul! If you keep worrying about the eyes from above, you'll never get any further forward! Don't be afraid of the fools in the council, follow the path you believe in! That's the way of a Fairy Tail wizard!"

Everyone cheered, raising their hands with their index finger and thumb pointed upwards.

"There you go!" Mirajane exclaimed, watching in fondness as Lucy looked at her new guild mark in awe. It was on the back of her right hand; bright pink as requested.

"Pink was my favorite color growing up. It's not anymore, but Fairy Tail makes me remember my early childhood. I have fond memories of those times."

Mirajane beamed at her happily. "I'm glad to hear that! Well, if you ever have any questions about what it means to be a Fairy Tail wizard, or are having any troubles settling in, please let me know."

"I will do that; thank you so much for your help, Mirajane."

With the soft feeling of contentment fluttering around inside her stomach, Lucy began to search for Natsu and Happy, eager to show them her guild mark. She found them standing in front of the notice board, looking at the various jobs.

"Natsu, Happy! I've got my Fairy Tail mark; I'm now an official Fairy Tail wizard like you both are."

"Uhuh, that's nice, Luigi."

"It's Lucy." She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering where the aloof attitude came from. Was it because he found her boring or not powerful enough?

Well, it didn't matter in the end. Lucy's been treated much colder by many other people so she refused to allow his attitude to influence her happiness. She came here to be a Fairy Tail wizard, not to seek the approval of a man she just met.

She vehemently stomped down the insecurities bubbling up inside of her. Of course, she was weak compared to him, their power levels were completely different! But that was alright because Lucy was going to train and become stronger.

"Ooh, this is a good one Happy! 160,000J to subdue several thieves!"

"Natsu, Happy, what mission do you think I should take? I've never gone on one before and I don't want something too serious for my first mission."

Natsu turned to her and studied her face intently. "I'm not really sure about what type of magic you have," he told her, almost unnaturally serious, "so I can't say anything for certain. But not every job Fairy Tail receives requires you to fight a bunch of bad guys. Other jobs require you to do small, boring tasks. But those jobs don't pay as well as jobs where you actually risk your health to complete them."

Happy waved to get her attention. "You want to get a job that can compliment your magic. For example, if your magic does poorly in the heat, then you'll want an indoor job during the summer. Natsu's magic is very battle-oriented, so we usually take jobs that include a lot of fighting."

Natsu gave her a childish grin, and it was like he had never been serious in the first place. "If you can't find a job, then you can just go on this job with Happy and me! That way, we get any of your jitters of going on a job out of the way, and you'll have me and Happy to help you if you get in trouble!"

Lucy blinked, feeling rather blind-sighted. "Are you sure you want-"

"Is my dad back yet?!"

Lucy turned her head to see a small child talking to the master.

"You're starting to get irritating, Romeo. Your father is a proud Fairy Tail wizard, isn't he? Then wait patiently for him back at home." The master gently scolded the boy.

"But he said he'd be back in three days!" Romeo shouted back. "It's been a week, and he isn't back yet!"

The master set down his mug. "As I recall, Macao's job was at Mt. Hakobe."

"That's not far from here!" Romeo's voice turned desperate, his expression pleading. "Go and search for him!"

The master twitched, and Lucy looked on with keen eyes, suppressing a wince. Something snapped and the old man was bound to say something rather insensitive. Lucy wanted to comfort Romeo (as she'd always had a soft spot for children), but it wasn't her place to interfere.

True to her instincts, the master began to yell at the boy. "Your father is a Fairy Tail wizard! And there ain't no Fairy Tail Wizard who can't save his own ass! GO HOME AND DRINK SOME MILK AND **WAIT!** "

Lucy watched on in shock as Romeo curled his hands into fists and leaped up to punch the master right in the face, tears streaming down his cheeks as he did so. "You jerk!" And before anyone could say anything else, he ran away.

A loud _crack_ near her ear caused Lucy to jolt violently, heart beating fast behind her ribcage. Turning around, she saw Natsu standing there with a dark look on his face. The mission board had broken from where the pink-haired mage had punched it. Without a single word in her direction, he left with Happy.

"Oh, dear," Mirajane sighed, walking up to Lucy.

"This is personal for him, isn't it? The reason why he stormed out?"

Mirajane gave her a sad smile. "That's correct. You see…everyone here carries something with them: a scar, a wound, suffering—myself included." Her hands began to tremble and Lucy quickly looked away, knowing Mirajane did not want Lucy to see her like this. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see the barmaid smiling at her in gratitude.

"And because of something in Natsu's past, he sees a kindred spirit in Romeo?"

"Natsu, sort of like Romeo right now, also lost his father at a young age. Well, it wasn't his _real_ father, but…just like everyone in Fairy Tail is no less of a family despite not sharing any blood, the dragon who raised him was no less his father."

"Igneel." Lucy realized. "Igneel was the one to raise him, which is why Natsu searches for him, isn't it?"

"Exactly."

* * *

Half an hour later, Lucy found herself in a carriage with a motion-sick dragon slayer and his blue companion.

" _Why are you here?_ "

Lucy paused from where she had been petting Happy, wondering how much she could reveal to him. She didn't want to accidentally throw Mirajane under the bus after the barmaid had been so kind and helpful. "Please don't be mad."

Natsu looked annoyed, sick, and exhausted. "I'm not mad."

Lucy bit her lip, before smoothing out her expression. _She had already been trained out of these childish habits._ "Mirajane told me, without going into any detail, why you search for Igneel. You see Romeo in yourself, don't you?"

"Yeah? What does that have anything to do with why you decided to join?"

"I—I know what it's like to lose a parent at a young age."

Natsu jolted, staring at her intently. She could also feel Happy's gaze on her and knew what they wanted to ask. "My mother became very sick when I was a child…but she never recovered."

She gave them a small smile, trying to wave away their worry. "It's fine; I've made peace with her death. Now, what exactly are we up against? We probably have to fight some type of monster, if your friend hasn't returned by now."

"Macao's...your friend...too. _Huuughnnn._ "

"Yo, Natsu." Happy spoke up, patting him on the head. "Don't die before we even get there." When Natsu whined in reply, he turned his attention towards Lucy. "Given that we're going to Mt. Hakobe, it's very likely that we'll run into some Vulcans."

Lucy nodded, her face grim. Vulcans…where had she heard about them before?

The carriage stopped.

"Are we here?" she wondered aloud.

Natsu jumped up and cheered, instantly energized. "We've stopped! We've stopped!"

The coachman hollered from over his shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I can't take you any farther." The door opened, and an absolute _blizzard_ poured inside.

Lucy looked on in envy as Natsu, _who wasn't even wearing a proper shirt_ , seemed to have no qualms with the temperature. Even Happy seemed at ease with all of his fur. Meanwhile, Lucy had worn a light parka and wool leggings, expecting it to be like the mountains back at home.

But within the first twenty minutes of trudging through the knee-deep snow, Lucy's hands and legs felt numb. The wind kept biting painfully at her face and ears and her teeth chattered violently. By then, her lips and fingers had begun to turn an alarming shade of blue.

"G-Gate of the clock, I open thee! H-Horologium!"

"Oooh, a clock!" exclaimed Natsu. Happy echoed his excitement.

Without waiting for either of her acquaintances to ask questions, Lucy crawled inside of the clock and let out a loud sigh of relief when she no longer felt the horridly-cold wind. Within moments, she began to regain feeling in her hands and feet. She felt warm air brush past her face and knew that Horologium was trying to warm her up faster.

"I'll be here," she mumbled tiredly, rubbing her hands together to heat up faster, "If I don't warm up soon, then I'll be as good as useless if we have to fight."

"What's that, Luigi? I can't hear a word you're saying."

Lucy flushed in mortification, tucking her head in between her knees so that Natsu and Happy couldn't see how embarrassed she was. It was shameful to show this much vulnerability. "Horologium?" she called out, hoarsely.

"She says, 'I'll be here. If I don't warm up soon, then I'll be as good as useless if we have to fight.'"

"If you're useless in the cold, then why'd you even come?"

"'The mountains I grew up with are much warmer during the summertime, so I didn't expect it to be so cold,' she says, indignantly, 'And I wanted to try and be a good friend by helping you out in finding that poor boy's dad. See if I ever do anything nice for you again.'"

Natsu and Happy didn't have anything to say after that, so they simply continued on ahead.

Lucy stayed back, trying to get her embarrassment down to an acceptable level, when a large figure grabbed Horologium and took off with the spirit, Lucy in tow.

"Human woman! Human woman!" it chanted.

"I'm sorry, Miss Lucy, but it appears that my time is up!" And with that note, Horologium shimmered and disappeared into the air. Lucy let out a silent thank you to the Celestial spirit for keeping her as warm as he had.

Once again, she was reminded that it was cold outside. But fortunately for her, the strange creature had taken her to a cave, which protected her against the wind.

"Wooomaaaannnn…" the monkey-like creature leered at her, reminding her uncomfortably of the older men at her father's parties trying to 'sneak a peek' at the beautiful Heartfilia Heiress.

"MONKEY! WHERE'S MACAO?!" Natsu stormed in, and Lucy thought he looked sort-of cool, like the dashing prince in the fairy tails she used to read with her mother (and sometimes, Aquarius). But then he ruined his moment by slipping on the ice and crashing head-first into the wall, causing Lucy to purse her lips in sympathy.

True to his character, however, Natsu brushed it off like it was nothing, a righteous fire burning in his eyes. "Hey, monkey! You can understand me, can't you? You were speaking earlier…where's Macao?! He's a human male!"

"Male…?" The monkey-creature repeats, looking confused.

"Yeah! Where' ya hiding him?!"

Lucy blinked, shocked and slightly appalled at Natsu's lack of thinking things through. "Natsu," she called out, "Why are you so sure that this creature is hiding your friend?"

"He's your friend, too!" Natsu called back absentmindedly, keeping his gaze on the creature.

Once more, the monkey's attention turned towards her, hearts in his eyes. "Pretty woman!"

"Hey!" Natsu snapped more vitriol in his voice than before. "Answer the damn question, already!"

The monkey-creature glared at him ominously, and Lucy had a bad feeling sinking into her gut. Walking over to an entrance, the monkey grunted, pointing outwards.

Natsu smiled happily, acting childish once more. Skipping over to the edge, he peered out. "Where is he?"

All too late, Lucy realized what the monkey was planning. "Get away from the edge, Natsu, it's a trap!"

Before Natsu could turn around and ask her what she meant, the monkey kicked him off of the ledge.

"YOU MONKEY!"

"Pretty woman! Pretty woman!" The monkey-creature began to crowd her space and _ew, was it drooling?_

Lucy put on the firmest expression she could manage, tapping her foot against the ground. For whatever reason, the creature seemed to be more receptive to her than to Natsu. She wasn't as worried about being booted off of a cliff (and while a part of her was freaking out about Natsu's safety, if anyone was going to survive a fall, it would be him).

"Please back up. I don't feel comfortable with you so close."

Surprisingly, the creature backed up a bit, becoming more mellow. "Sorry."

Lucy patted his arm (at least, she was pretty sure the monkey was a male). "I forgive you; but next time, please don't invade my personal space."

She softened her expression minutely at the monkey's contrite expression (and ignored the parts when he stared at her breasts for a moment-too-long). Besides, if the creature could understand her, then it would be easier to ask about Macao.

"Hello, my name is Lucy," she introduced herself, politeness drilled into her head since she was old enough to talk. "I've never seen a monkey-like you, before. Do you mind telling me your species?"

"Vulcan! Vulcan!"

"Oh, my! I've never seen a Vulcan before; it's nice to finally meet one." Without warning, a piece of information that she had read on Vulcans flashed through her mind:

_But be wary of the Vulcan. Such strange beasts have been known to emulate the magic of man. One such magick that they are known for is takeover magic. A seasoned wizard might be able to defeat four or five of these beasts, but Vulcans attack in packs that quickly overwhelm any human unlucky enough to fight them on their own._

What if Macao wasn't being hidden somewhere? What if…? An idea formed in her head.

The Vulcan preened, growing smug at her wonder. Lucy was reminded of the men who would flex their muscles at her in an attempt to amaze her at their strength.

"Well then, Mr. Vulcan, I don't suppose you've seen a man named Macao around, have you? I don't know what he looks like, but I do know that he is a wizard."

"Macao…?" The Vulcan seemed puzzled, frowning as it tried to think.

Lucy nodded in agreement. "Yes, good sir, a man named Macao. He has a young son named Romeo who is desperately looking for him and misses him very much."

The Vulcan softened its posture, eyes sad. Lucy was now certain of her hypothesis.

In a low, remorseful tone, she continued on. "Romeo has been waiting all this time for his father to come home. He even came to the Fairy Tail guild hall, crying and begging the master to help search for Mr. Macao." She turned her head up to stare the Vulcan in the eyes. "Now I'm begging you, Mr. Vulcan, to please help me find Romeo's father."

"Romeo…"

"Yes, Romeo," Lucy agreed softly, "I know this is hard, Mr. Macao, but you have to fight it. Your son is waiting for you to come home."

And then, Natsu crashed through and ruined whatever progress Lucy had made.

* * *

_DAMN THAT MONKEY! NATSU WAS GOING TO MAKE IT PAY!_

Natsu had been surprised when Lucy decided to join up with them to search for Macao. He knew better than anyone how appearances could be deceiving (Mira was a devil in all senses of the word), and he had yet to see what type of magic Lucy held, but she seemed so _soft._ So _refined._

Natsu was a dragon slayer, and as such, he was much more instinctual than the average person. Dragon Slaying wasn't just a type of magic, but a way of life. Natsu had the instincts of a dragon, and that made it difficult to be around others sometimes. What he felt, he felt to the extremes.

If he loved, he loved so infinitely that he would metaphorically carve out pieces of his heart to give to the ones who brought about his protection. He loved everyone in Fairy Tail, even the annoying ones like Gray. He claimed them as kin and they were his to protect. He loved them with the fierce possessiveness that only a dragon could have toward its hoard and knew, instinctively, with every beat of his heart, that he would raze down any enemies that blocked their paths and threatened their happiness.

If he hated, he also did so to the extreme. It happened rarely; he had many enemies and fights during missions to which he held no ill will for afterward. But for the ones who managed to unleash his fury, they set themselves up for an overwhelming, crushing defeat. They were the enemy and a danger to his kin, and Natsu would fight his inner demons, the poison in his mind telling him to crush them. Slowly. Deliberately. Cruelly.

But Lucy…

Natsu didn't know what was going on with her. Something inside him raged in protective anger, telling him that she was special. He didn't know _how_ , but she _was_. He had never felt this protective over someone in such a short amount of time, not even with Lisanna or Happy (even though they tied for a close second).

And then they were hiking up Mt. Hakobe. And Natsu was slightly concerned when Lucy hid in her clock and he noticed her fingers had turned blue. But watching her summon the clock was awesome.

He made sure to ask Happy what her magic was, given that the cat knew more than him when it came to book-like things.

 _"_ _I don't know much about it, because she only mentioned it to me. But she told me that she's a Celestial mage. She has these keys that allow her celestial spirits to come here and fight."_

Celestial mage, huh? It made sense to Natsu. Lucy was like starlight: calm, collected, and comforting.

And then that _stupid_ monkey grabbed the clock, Lucy in tow. He had let out an indignant squawk, chasing after them.

Because he remembered how that one Vulcan treated Lisanna back when they were children. But Lucy wasn't an adorable child. She was a pretty teenager with a bust size large enough to cause the men in the guild hall to turn and look at her. And something about the way the Vulcan stared at her with hearts in its eyes and called her 'pretty woman' _irked_ Natsu.

Which was stupid.

Because Luce was pretty. And nice, even if she didn't show much emotion. And was now part of the family. But Natsu had known her for all but a day or so, and usually, he would have to wait at least a couple of weeks for his dragon instincts to recognize someone new as _kin_.

And so he caught up to them. And like the idiot Laxus always said he was, Natsu allowed that damn monkey to trick him and got kicked off a cliff for his troubles.

Happy saved him, like the best partner in the world that he was, and they flew back to the cave as fast as possible because Natsu was sure Lucy had never faced a Vulcan before.

Natsu had a keen sense of sight (along with the smell, but that wasn't important right now), and he saw them before he could hear anything (although that meant Lucy wasn't screaming or crying, so he took it as a good thing). But he didn't like how close that stupid monkey was to his sort-of teammate.

Not-so-surprisingly, the Vulcan wasn't too thrilled with Natsu making another appearance.

Something in Lucy's face clicked into place. A resolution is shown by the clench in her jaw. She took out a golden key. "Gate of the Ox, I open thee: Taurus!"

A large... **thing** came out in a flash of golden light (and Lucy looked like a celestial fairy in the way her skin nearly seemed to glow and her hair looked like golden wheat). It was a mixture of a human and a cow and had a large ax strapped to its back.

And Natsu thought the cow dude seemed rather cool, but then he opened his _mouth_.

"MISS LUUUUCY! Your body's looking as sexy as ever!"

Natsu felt his eye twitch involuntarily at the comment.

Oh, Mavis, this was worse than _Mira_. At least she could easily shut down any creep. And never seemed to _actively attract them to her_. Accidentally or not.

Lucy gave a small, barely perceptible sigh. "Now is not the time, Taurus. I need you to buy me time so I can talk to Natsu about my theory over his-our missing friend. Can you do that for me?"

The stupid bull eyed her with hearts in his eyes, drooling like she was a piece of meat. Natsu felt his fingers twitch, reminded of beating men up at the bar whenever they gave Cana unwanted attention. One man even had the _gall_ to ask her to ' _strip off that slutty shirt for me, baby'_. Needless to say, the bastard was unable to walk home that night after Natsu was through with him.

"Of course, Miss Lucy! I will always defend my girl!"

The Vulcan took offense to that. "Your woman?! That's _my_ woman!"

"MISS LUCY WOULD NEVER SETTLE FOR SOMEONE AS DUMB AS YOU!"

"STUPID BULL! THOSE ARE FIGHTING WORDS!"

Despite all of the yelling, Natsu could hear Happy snickering at him from the background.

A hand gently tugged at his jacket, causing him to turn and see Lucy with a finger against her lips, signaling for him to remain quiet.

"We can talk over here."

Natsu glanced over her, cataloging any injuries and observing the serious glint in her eyes. "What do we need to talk about? I need to beat that monkey up and have it tell me where Macao is."

Happy sighed. "Oh Natsu, it's always 'hit first, ask questions later' with you."

"It works, doesn't it?!"

"Guys," Lucy spoke firmly, effectively cutting off their budding argument. "We can't afford to draw attention to ourselves. Besides, I think I know where Mr. Macao is."

Natsu perked up in interest. "Really? Tell me!"

"We're up against a Vulcan, right?" And perhaps she could be more direct in her approach, but Lucy could bet her title as heiress that Natsu would get easily bored and tune her out if she didn't actively include him in the conversation.

He gave her an exasperated glance. "We knew this already, Luigi."

She barely refrained from rolling her eyes at the "nickname". "Well, I've read about Vulcans, and apparently they have this nice, little ability called "takeover magic". And usually, they travel in packs of at least a dozen or so. Isn't it strange that the Vulcan is all by itself? And there's not a trace of Mr. Macao anywhere?"

Natsu looked pensive. Happy spoke up. "He even spoke in sentences, Natsu. That's not—that's not normal."

"So what are you saying? That the Vulcan is Macao?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. He even seemed sad when I mentioned Romeo."

By now, the Vulcan had backed Taurus into a corner, however valiantly the bull tried to fight back. "Miss Lucy, please hurry!"

Natsu watched as a determined glint entered Lucy's eyes. "He's too worked up for me to try to talk sense into him like last time, but…"

He grinned. "But that just means I need to beat some sense into him! I'm all fired up, now!"

Lucy gave him a serious look. "Be careful not to injure him too much. Mr. Macao sounds like a tough person, so he wouldn't have gone down without a fight. I'm not sure if any of his wounds beforehand were serious, so we don't want to take the risk."

Natsu grinned at her, baring his teeth so that his fangs glinted in the afternoon light. "Don't worry; I'm gonna save him."

Lucy blinked, before relaxing a fraction. Save.

The resulting fight was Natsu pummeling the Vulcan-who-turned-out-to-be-Macao. Of course, he tried to hold back on his punches a bit, since even though he didn't outright state it, he promised Lucy to be wary of any injuries he may have had.

It didn't mean he went _easy_ on him.

Natsu was still remembering Macao's words to Lucy. Once the bastard recovered, Natsu wouldn't hold back if the old man decided to hit on Lucy again. Actually, he was itching to stop holding back _now,_ but then Lucy would be upset with him. And she just seemed so genuinely nice, it would make him feel guilty if he upset her.

Distantly, he heard Lucy call her cow back. It was a smart move, seeing as Natsu was fighting in close combat with the Vulcan and her spirit might mess up his rhythm.

Still, she had Taurus stand on the sidelines, waiting to see if Natsu would need any help. One might even think of it as sweet if it wasn't for the fact that Natsu was slightly offended that she didn't think he could take on a single Vulcan by himself.

He decided to show off a bit. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

The Vulcan flew backward, crashing into the ice and hard rock, glaring at him before passing out.

"How was that, Lu—?"

She rushed past him, taking out the med kit she had packed and began to tend to the wounds. The body morphed, shifting and shrinking until it was the undeniable outline of Macao. Macao, Natsu immediately noted with growing concern, who was bleeding profusely from several wounds.

"Macao, you old bastard, hang in there!"

He caught Lucy's gaze, who, for the first time since he's met her, looked afraid. "I don't have the knowledge to treat wounds this deep. And even if I had, I didn't pack enough medical supplies." Her eyes took on a glossy sheen as if she was holding back tears. "I'm sorry I'm not more useful."

Natsu growled. "Stop that. You sound like you're giving up."

Happy hummed in agreement. "You're plenty useful. Natsu was an idiot here, and didn't think to pack a medkit at all."

"Hey!"

"If the shoe fits."

Macao groaned, snapping Natsu's attention back to the problem at hand. With a grim look towards Happy, he sent the flying cat outside, knowing that Happy was still relatively young and was too soft to handle this.

Lucy's gaze sharpened, glancing at him. "What are you planning to do?"

"Right now, we have to stop the bleeding, or else Macao will die before we even have the chance to find him help."

Her expression shuttered, lips pressing into a thin line, and Natsu knew she caught on to what he was planning. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Hold him down."

She nodded, planting her knees on his shoulders so she could lean over and hold his arms down.

The sickening scent of burning flesh filled the air, Macao's screams not far behind it. Lucy bit her lip until it bled, using all of her strength to keep Macao from thrashing around and hurting himself further. Natsu felt grateful (not that he would admit it out loud; he wasn't the type) to have her with him. He felt bad that he was forcing her to witness this, but it was necessary.

Already, the blood flow had begun to slow down, the fire sealing up the wounds.

"Dammit…" Macao groaned out, every word laced with pain. "I'm so ashamed of myself."

Lucy frowned. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. Vulcans are powerful beasts. I know you fought and defeated many of them valiantly."

The man gave her a weak smirk. "That's sweet of you to say, but I _do_ have something to be ashamed about."

Natsu growled in frustration. "Stop talking. You're going to reopen your wounds."

Macao didn't pay him any attention, and Lucy wondered if the pain had left him fully coherent or not. "I defeated nineteen of them… but the twentieth snuck up on me."

Nineteen?! Lucy gasped in shock, expecting him to have defeated four or five. With a self-deprecating smile, she glanced at the ground to not catch Natsu's eyes. Fairy Tail was on a league of its own and she was so far behind, it was absolutely pathetic.

"I get it already, stop talking!"

"I can't face Romeo like this…"

"Do you want me to punch your lights out?!"

Lucy sniffed, her eyes turning cold. "You're being stupid, Mr. Macao."

Natsu gawped at her, jaw hanging loose. She paid him no mind.

"There is nothing shameful in defeating nineteen monsters. And besides that, your son cares more about you than the missions you complete. The only thing shameful you could do right now is if you force your son to wait for you any longer than he already has."

Macao smiled at her, expression soft at the thought of his son. "You're right… I was being an idiot. Thank you for your words, earlier. They gave me the strength to fight for control over the Vulcan."

Lucy pinked lightly. No one had ever thanked her outside of a sense of obligation. "There really is no need for gratitude. I hardly did anything praise-worthy."

"Awww, angelic, smart, sweet, _and_ adorable! Natsu, how the hell did _you_ end up with her?!"

Natsu growled at him, but his eyes were playful. "Quit it, old man."

"But I can't help it! This must be heaven if I'm being nursed to health by an angel."

Lucy felt her lips quirk up despite the dire situation they had just been in. "I hope not; I've always wanted heaven to be someplace warm."

Gently, she helped him to sit up and lean against the wall of the cave. Ever so carefully and meticulously, she began to bandage his stomach and torso, trying not to react to the sight of burnt flesh.

"If Natsu's ever too much for you to handle, I would _love_ for you to join my team."

Natsu glared at him darkly. "Keep your pervy hands to yourself."

In the end, it was decided that Lucy and Happy would help Macao walk, while Natsu carried the rest of their equipment. It worked out well because Macao seemed to have an abnormally high body temperature (perhaps it was something all fire-wizards had) and kept Lucy warm.

When they reached the town, they found Romeo before Romeo found them. Lucy looked at Macao, who had tears in his eyes at the sight of his son and gently nudged him forward. "He's waiting for you, Mr. Macao, so you shouldn't just stay here."

"Romeo," he murmured out, his fingers trembling. "Romeo!" He called out again, louder.

Romeo glanced up, and it was like a dam had broke. Tears spilled down his cheeks and he let out a happy sob. "Daddy! You're back!" He rushed up to Macao and glomped onto him. "I… I'm sorry I told you to go on that mission!"

Macao hugged him back fiercely. "I'm so sorry for worrying you. And the next time those dumb kids pick on you, ask them this: 'Can _your_ dad defeat nineteen monsters as mine can?'"

Lucy looked on with a light heart. A part of her wished that _she_ could have a relationship like that with her father, but would never begrudge Romeo for his relationship with his father.

"NATSU! HAPPY! THANK YOU!" The boy shouted back, waving at them wildly.

"Sure."

"Aye!"

Lucy was just about to walk on when the voice continued. "AND YOU TOO, LUCY-NEE!"

Startled, she glanced back at Romeo who was beaming at her and gave him a soft smile. "It was my pleasure to help."


	3. Dear Kaby

Lucy sighed happily, sinking further into her bubble bath. With the help of Mirajane (“Call me ‘Mira-nee’!”), she was able to find an apartment close to the guild with a rent cheaper than that at Fairy Hills.

The apartment was spacious for the price of the rent, with its own cooking stove and adorable, old-fashioned fireplace. Feeling strangely bubbly at the thought of owning such an adorable complex, she finished up her bath, wrapping a towel around herself and heading towards her bedroom.

“ **Yo! This is nice, Lucy!** ”

Without thinking, Lucy whipped her leg around and slammed her heel into the intruders’ faces, crushing them against the wall with a loud _crack_.

She let out a tiny shriek when she realized her “burglars” were only Natsu and Happy, immediately backing away and bowing down in apology. “I apologize for kicking you!”

Natsu sat up on the floor, rubbing his jaw. “If you’re sorry, then why’d’ya do it in the first place?”

Lucy flushed, averting her gaze from the dragon slayer and cat. “I thought you were burglars and attacked out of instinct.”

Natsu let out a pained grin. “Well, that kick of yours does some major damage. It might honestly be stronger than Erza’s, and that’s saying something.”

“Natsu, Happy, what are you two even doing in my room? What you’re doing is considered ‘breaking and entering’.”

Natsu blinked at her, cheek red and somewhat swollen. “Whoa… I just heard from Mira that you bought an apartment and wanted to check it out.”

“Lucy, you’ve really got a nice place!” 

She gasped when she saw Happy sharpening his claws on her new apartment walls. “If you need to claw on something, do it on that old couch I was planning on getting rid of once I finally earned enough to replace it. I have to pay for any damages done to the apartment, itself and if the owner sees that I ruined her walls within a week of moving here, she might terminate our contract and I’ll end up homeless.”

Happy looks at his paws, and slowly lowers them to rest at his sides. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay,” Lucy rushes to assures, giving him a soft look, “but I would appreciate it if you and Natsu could leave my room so that I could get changed. It’s inappropriate for me to walk around in my towel, especially if you’re here visiting.”

Natsu was sitting on Lucy’s tattered couch, taking in the sights and scents around him.

At the moment, the apartment smelt sterile and slightly musty, but he could catch whiffs of Lucy’s strawberry shampoo if he traveled close enough to the bathroom. A glance at Happy showed that his cat started to stretch at the window ledge, letting the sunlight warm him. 

“This is going to be our new place to hang out, isn’t it.” It wasn’t a question.

“Obviously, Happy. Luce’s place is great.”

“Aye!”

The door to her bedroom opened (and Natsu was happy because the bedroom is where Lucy’s scent was most prevalent and made something animal inside of him calm, the same way that his other kin’s scents would) and the celestial mage stepped out in jeans and a blouse.

“Do you guys want any tea?”

Her body language was relaxed, which caused the tension to fall off of Natsu’s shoulders. He wanted to visit her, and knew that Fairy Tail had a twisted sense of personal boundaries, but didn’t want to make her truly uncomfortable. But luckily for him, she seemed okay with his and Happy’s unannounced arrival.

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

“Okay, it’ll be done in just a moment.”

As she busied herself in the kitchen, Natsu took a moment to really inspect the rest of her home. Stopping for a moment, he glanced at a strange pile of papers lying around on her desk. “Hey, Luigi, what’s with these papers?”

With the most panicked expression that Natsu had ever seen Lucy make, she scrambled into the room and practically ripped the papers from his hands, holding them protectively over her chest. “None of your business.”

Happy giggled evilly into his paw. “What’s with _that_ reaction? Are those embarrassing letters or something?”

Lucy sniffed. “Think what you will, but that still doesn’t make it your business.”

Happy chortled, but let the matter drop. Lucy sighed and placed the papers in a drawer out of sight. “I think the tea is ready if you still want some.”

Lucy… didn’t know how she felt.

On one hand, Natsu and Happy promised to help show her the ropes as much as possible on their new job. On the other hand, they manipulated her by using her adversity towards going back on a promise to trick her into agreeing to the job when the only reason why they wanted to include her was that their target was a perverted man looking for blonde maids.

It reminded her too much of her father’s dinner parties. Oh, officially, those parties were to commemorate an expansion of the Heartfilia Railroads, but Lucy knew it was to scope out potential families to marry her into. 

It was disgusting and made her skin crawl, to be unable to do anything but sit there patiently as pigs twice (or sometimes, even three times) her age leered at her unabashedly. They didn’t care that she had been thirteen or fourteen and the same age as some of their children from previous wives. After all, she was only a pretty face to them.

But she was a woman of her word and would do her utmost best to help Natsu and Happy find the book and destroy it.

Currently, they were in a carriage to the town where their client lived. Try as she might, it was hard to stay truly mad at Natsu when he looked so miserable.

Natsu and Happy were eating at a local restaurant without Lucy. She said something about scouting out the area.

Natsu understood what she was doing, but it still didn’t stop him from feeling down about not being able to eat with her. Meals were just better with friends; and while a meal with Happy was always great, a meal with Happy _and_ Lucy would have been even better!

“Well,” he spoke to Happy around a mouthful of chicken, “We should probably save Lucy some food just in case she changes her mind about being hungry.”

“Aye! We should save her some of the fatty bits.”

“Yeah, she seems like the type of person to like the fatty bits.”

A voice spoke up from behind them. “Pardon me, but why, exactly, would I like the fatty bits?”

“Oh! Lu…cy?”

Natsu and Happy watched, mouths agape, as Lucy shyly tugged the skirt of her maid outfit to cover more of her thighs. It was the cute and frilly kind, with white stockings and polished black shoes. A black choker matched the headdress she wore, hair pulled into twin pigtails.

“I hope this outfit is acceptable for the mission, Master.” She bowed down to them. “Please take your time if you are not done eating. If you don’t like the food, Master, please allow me to order something new.”

Three things struck Natsu in the span of a second:

1.) For as smart as Lucy seemed sometimes, she could be rather gullible, which meant that Natsu would need to keep an even _closer_ eye on her when she was dealing with the pervert.

2.) She looked really adorable as a shy maid.

3.) Erza was to **never** find out about this part of the mission. If she learned that Natsu tricked Lucy into joining him, subsequently causing her to wear such an outfit, he would be covered in more bruises than actual skin by the time she was done with him.

Happy looked at him in terror. “ _What do we do now?!_ ” he whispered to Natsu harshly, “ _We were only joking about the maid plan!”_

“ _We can’t tell her about the joke_ **_now_ ** _! We’ll just have to go through with it!_ ”

“I am right here and I can hear you.” Her tone inflection barely changed, and her face still remained passive, but Natsu could tell she was majorly irritated at the reveal. She let out a silent huff, lips quirked into a small pout. “Come on, let’s just head over to the clients’ house already.”

The man smelled weird to Natsu as if he and his wife were strangers in their own home. He kept quiet about his suspicions, however, and let Lucy lead the discussion. After all, she was much more diplomatic than either Happy or he.

“Hello, my name is Kaby Melon and this is my wife.” The man gave them a genial smile, gesturing to a kind, youthful woman who waved at them. “I am the one who requested this job.”

Natsu was too busy thinking with his stomach to address them properly. “Whoa, his name is ‘Melon’!”

Happy chimed up from beside him, drooling a little bit. “That sure is a tasty name!”

Lucy huffed and gently smacked the back of their heads. “You two shouldn’t be so rude to our client; that’s bad business.” Turning towards Kaby, she gave the couple an apologetic smile. “I sincerely apologize to my colleagues.”

Kaby laughed it off. “Ahahaha, it’s okay… I hear that often!”

He stopped chuckling, and his expression turned serious. “Now, shall we talk about the scope of the mission?”

From beside him, Natsu could feel Lucy stiffening, eyes holding a calculating gaze to them.

“I am requesting one thing: that you search for a one-of-a-kind book in Duke Everlue’s possession, _Daybreak_ , and **destroy it**.”

Natsu frowned. “So you don’t want us to steal it?”

Kaby gave a tired, wobbly smile. “Well, breaking into someone’s home and destroying an item without compensation is almost the same, wouldn’t you say?”

Natsu grinned. “Now that’s what I’m talking about! If I just burn down the house, the book’s gonna be destroyed as well!”

“Aye!”

Lucy let out a tiny (adorable) squeak, tugging on his scarf to pull him back onto the sofa. “If you do that, you’ll be arrested for arson!”

She turned towards this client. “What exactly _is_ this book, if you are willing to pay 200,000J for us to destroy it?”

“Actually, I raised the price to two million.”

He looked unsure at their shocked expressions. “Didn’t you know about the reward raise?” 

Mutely, the three of them shook their heads.

Lucy cleared her throat. “E-Excuse me, Mr. Melon.” Happy twitched violently at the name but managed to keep his comments to himself. “Do you mind if I ask why for the sudden rise in reward money? It’s a little… extreme.”

Kaby lowered his head gravely. “I raised the price because that’s how much I want the book destroyed. I cannot abide by its existence any longer.”

She flinched in surprise as Natsu’s head lit on fire. “ALL RIGHT! I'M ALL FIRED UP NOW!”

Grabbing her hand, Natsu ran out of the house. “Come on, Lucy! I’m on fire here!”

Walking up to the front gates with as much grace as she could muster, she rang the bell. “Excuse me, but I saw your ad about hiring new maids! If it pleases you, I would like to apply for the position!”

The ground near her feet rumbled ominously, and a terrifying woman, easily thrice as large as Lucy, towered over her. Her voice boomed like thunder. “ **You want to be a maid?** ”

Trying not to act as nervous as she actually felt inside, Lucy nodded her head. “Yes, ma’am.”

“ **Master, she says she saw your ad and is looking for a job.** ”

“Hmm…” 

_He was inside the hole?! Did that make him a mage? If so, then the mission suddenly became more precarious._

A shorter, fat man sprung up from inside the hole, looking disturbingly similar to his drawings in the mission paper. “Were you looking for me?” He began to leer at her intently. “Hmm…”

As always, Lucy felt her skin crawl but managed to submissively bow her head, not appearing outwardly bothered by his gross behavior. Mind racing a mile a minute, she knew she needed to convince the Duke that she was more than a simple, ditsy blonde.

“I apologize sir, but I must confess that this is my first job as a regular maid. Before, I was the handmaiden of Countess Lilian. After her… unfortunate sickness, the master of the house let all of Madam Lilian’s servants go, and I have been looking for permanent work ever since.” She gave him a polite smile, lying through her teeth.

Duke Everlue’s eyes flashed dangerously, and it took everything in her power not to let her poker face falter. “I see, boyo… Well, as experienced as you seem to be, you’re way too ugly for my taste.”

Lucy felt as if the words drove a stake into her chest. She dressed up in a too-short maid outfit and let herself be leered at by some boorish pervert only to be called ‘ugly’ at the end!

Several maids popped up from the ground behind the original one, each uglier than the last. 

“ _Oh, master, you do know how to compliment a girl!_ ”

“ _Yeah, you heard him. Go home, ugly._ ”

“ _Yeah, ugly, get out of here!_ ”

Lucy felt like screaming, her pride blown to bits. Instead, her smile turned a bit stiffer as she bowed once more to the group. “Alright then, I will take my leave. I apologize for wasting both of our times.” _I’m sorry I wasted my precious time talking to you._

Duke Everlue stiffened, no doubt understanding her hidden meaning. She took the opening to turn on her heels and walk away towards where Natsu and Happy were hiding.

Dejectedly, she sat down and tried not to pout (she was unsuccessful at this endeavor).

Natsu frowned. “Well, that was a total waste.”

Her pout grew bigger.

Happy flew over and put a paw on her shoulder. “You tried your best, Lushi. I thought you did pretty well with dealing with that pervert, all things considered.”

“Yeah, and then lie about being the hand-something to that one Lyle guy—!”

“It was Countess Lilian.”

“—Yeah, whatever, but it sounded so real!” He then gave her a disappointed look. “But still… to use a sick lady for your lies is kinda…”

Lucy sighed. “It _was_ my fault that I wasn’t accepted; I was too aggressive in my attempt. Countess Lilian _was_ a real person. But she died of her sickness and it’s plain to see if you investigate it that she didn’t get sick by natural means.”

Natsu looked like a confused puppy. “What'd’ya mean by _that_?”

Happy sighed. “Someone poisoned her, didn’t they?”

“Wait, WHAT?!”

Lucy nodded. “Her husband, Count Volentine, was well known as an unfaithful husband with aspects of his businesses that were… shadier… than others. Of course, by being rich, he just paid the council to turn a blind eye to his more underhanded business dealings. I don’t know _what_ happened to cause Count Volentine to decide that his wife was too much trouble; maybe she discovered a part of his business that he didn’t want others to know… maybe he was simply a cruel man. But she fell ill and eventually died, and he got rid of all the servants that belonged to her.”

Natsu looked creeped out as if she had told him a horror story. “If the Count was so freaky, then why’d you pretend to work for him?”

“Because anyone who dared utter a word or start a rumor (subsequently, all of them were from previous employers) were either being deported for flimsy reasons or they simply… disappeared. The fact that I am alive and well means that I know how to keep quiet.” Flushing a light pink in embarrassment, she continued. “On the other hand, he might have taken it as me accusing him of having ties with things that are not so legal.”

Natsu tilted his head. “I know that the guy’s a pervert, but how’d’ya know that he wasn’t completely legal?”

“I talked to the locals. They won’t out-right say it, out of fear of punishment, but it’s clear that he’s a rather cruel fellow. With people like him, it’s not a stretch to assume that he’d have shadier businesses to make more money.”

Happy spoke up from his position on her lap. “Wow, Lucy, you sure know a lot about this stuff, don’t you?”

Lucy tensed, her small smile frozen on her face. After a moment to talk past the lump in her throat, she turned to the cat and began to pet him on his head. “Well, even I have my own secrets, don’t I?”

She jerked her head up as Natsu let out a shout of aggravation. “Argh! Talking like this is getting us nowhere! The first plan didn’t work, so now it’s time for the plan ‘C’!”

“Plan ‘C’?”

“Yeah!” He grabbed her wrist and tugged her up, before running straight to the entrance. “CHARGE!”

“Why did we have to sneak in through here?” Natsu whined but managed to keep his volume down when Lucy gently shushed him. “When I said ‘charge’, I meant to go through the front gates and destroy anything in our way.”

Lucy gave him a quelling look. “I know I said that Duke Everlue likely had some sort of illegal business, but there’s no way for us to prove it. If we had gone through with your plan, the council would arrest us. We’re basically acting as thieves, and even though we were hired legally, Duke Everlue is still in authority over this town. And even if we didn’t get arrested, this mansion is worth at least 3 billion Jewel and we’d end up in debt if you destroyed it.”

“Ah, jeez, but aren’t you mad? I mean he and his maids said such mean things to you…”

Lucy nodded decisively. “And I’ll make sure to take my revenge; I’ll probably hide all his shoes or something.”

Natsu and Happy looked at her in shock. “Wow, that’s surprisingly petty,” they parroted to her.

“Anyways, we’re not here to go on a rampage, so no violence, okay?”

Natsu sighed. “Mhm, yeah, sure. Whatever.”

“Don’t make that face. Instead, think of this as a mission only the most skilled of ninja can accomplish. Besides, do you think Gray could sneak around, undetected?” Hopefully, her hunch was right and he had a sort of rivalry going on.

Immediately, Natsu became alert. “Of course not; that ice stripper can’t sneak around for shit.”

Lucy let the vulgarity wash over her like water, focusing instead on the opportunity that Natsu unknowingly presented to her. “Well, only the sneakiest of Ninja can go around, undetected. Wouldn’t that be cool? _And_ you would have one-upped Gray since he isn’t skilled enough to do this.”

Natsu gave her a bright, childish grin, looking _beyond gleeful_. “Well, why didn’t you just start with that in the first place, Lucy?” He wrapped his scarf around his head. “We are the ninja! Nin, nin!”

Happy copied his movements. “Nin! Nin!”

Lucy let out an amused huff of air. “Alright then, Mr. Ninja, can we start our mission now?”

Carefully, Natsu placed his palm on the glass part of the door, just above the door handle. Quickly heating up the glass until it began to melt, he wound his arm around and unlocked the door from the inside. “We’re in!”

She and Happy climbed in after him.

‘Is this a storage room?’ she thought, taking stock at all the oddities that lined the walls.

“Hey, Lucy, look!” She glanced down at Happy to see that he found some sort of skull that fits perfectly on his head. It was adorable and creepy in equal measures.

“That’s nice, Happy, but we really should start searching for that book. The longer we’re here, then the more chance we have to get caught.” She pointed to a door at the opposite end of the room. “I think that’s the exit; Happy, can you please check to make sure we’re in the clear?”

“Aye! I’ll be as sneaky as a ninja! Nin, nin!” He poked his head out (and alright, Lucy could admit that the tiny skull _was_ rather adorable on him. Or perhaps that was just because Happy was an adorable cat) and surveyed the hall. “It’s clear, we’re all good!”

Tip-toeing into the hallway, Natsu began to pout. “Are we going to sneak into every room until we get a book?”

Lucy gave a firm nod. “We can’t afford to be seen. Ninja, remember?”

Of course, on par with the Universe and its sick sense of humor, that hope was quickly crushed and blown away like the probability of completing this mission without property damage.

“ **We found the intruders!** ”

Happy yelped in fear and Lucy bit her lip to keep from squeaking in surprise. Natsu jolted, before lighting his leg on fire and sweeping the maids away with a powerful kick, screaming “Ninja!” all the while.

Landing on his feet, his scarf still wrapped around his head, he turned to Lucy and Happy. “We cannot afford to be seen, for we are the ninja! Nin! Nin!”

Lucy said nothing about the irony in his statement; instead, she arched a delicate eyebrow, grabbing onto Natsu’s jacket and tugging on it. “Come on, reinforcements will arrive soon, so we should take the chance to hide while we can.”

“They already found us; why not just fight them?!”

She gave a sigh and prayed for patience. “Please, Natsu, just hide. We can search for the book after we’ve hidden.” Natsu gave her a look that expressed how much he disliked her decision, but obediently followed after her with Happy in tow.

Lucy felt as if she were a weaker woman, she would have cried in relief.

As it turned out, they had hidden in his personal library. If the book, _Daybreak_ , was anywhere in Everlue’s mansion, it would most likely be somewhere within the room. The only downside was that his collection of books was _massive_ , and would probably take them hours to find.

But at the same time… “If he has such a large collection of books and has read them all; I can’t help but admire him, even just a little bit.” 

Natsu turned to look at her. “What was that, Luigi? You were mumbling a bit.”

She blinked in shock, not realizing that she had been speaking out loud. “Oh, it’s nothing. I was just talking to myself.”

“Guys, look! I found an encyclopedia about fish!”

“ _Oh, look, I found a porno!_ ” At that, Lucy couldn’t help but snort. Of course, that’s what stuck out to the teenage boy in the room. And of course, that was something a dirty, old man like Duke Everlue had in his collection. 

“Ooohhh…! I found a golden book!”

Lucy turned around, ready to chide Natsu for slacking off on their job when the cover caught her eye. “Natsu, read the title. That book is important.”

“What'd’ya mean? It’s just some book called _Daybreak…_ ” His eyes widened and he let out a sharp grin, “Alright! Now _that’s_ what I’m talking about.”

But before he could burn the book, Lucy saw another detail that made her exhale sharply. “Wait.”

“What do you want _now_?!”

“The author is Kemu Zaleon.”

“And I’m supposed to care, why?”

Lucy couldn’t help but pout a bit. “You’re supposed to care because he is a renowned author and former mage. I am his biggest fan and I have never heard of _Daybreak_ before, which means that this is an unpublished work. I could never live with myself if I let one of his works get destroyed without at least reading it first.”

Natsu began to growl. It was guttural yet chiding all the while. “ **Lucy.** We have a job to do.”

She held the book protectively against her chest. “And I’m not saying that we abandon the mission. I’m just asking you to help me sneak this book out of the mansion. Once we’re far enough away for it to be safe, I’ll read the book and then give it to you to destroy. After all, our client never said that we had to destroy the book _at_ the mansion.” Her lips pulled into a frown as her eyes darkened. “Besides… Mr. Melon is hiding something, and it has to do with this book.”

Natsu was just about to agree to her plan, seeing nothing wrong with it as long as the book was destroyed per the clients' request when the ground rumbled beneath them. Up popped that disgusting mole-man once more, setting Natsu’s already frayed strings of patience on fire.

“Hmm, I was right after all to let you wander around for a bit to see what you were after. Aren’t I so smart, boyo?” He eyed Lucy with a certain gleam in his eyes that lit up Natsu’s anger like a fuse. “To think that you’d go so far for such a worthless book.”

Lucy’s voice when she replied was calm and measured. “Then I suppose you don’t mind if we take this book with us?” If Natsu had to use a single word to describe her at that moment, he would have used the word _regal_.

Ever-dud, or whatever his name was, gave an annoying, high-pitched laugh. “As a fellow literature lover, I admire your tenacity, girlie. But garbage or not, something that’s mine is _mine_.”

Natsu understood the sentiment deeply and hated the fact that he even shared a single trait with this trash.

But regardless of all that, the man had made Lucy uncomfortable back when she had been in her maid outfit (Natsu could tell, even from dozens of meters away. A fact that made him even angrier when he thought about it.). 

He was going to have a fun time smearing the bastard’s face into his fancy pavement.

“Fine then,” Lucy called back before **she sat down and began to read**. Natsu could tell, without even needing to look around, that everyone else in the room paused to stare and gawk at her.

“Er, **now** you’ve made me angry! I won’t let a common wench like you touch the belongings of someone as important as _I_! Vanish Brothers! Come forth!”

Natsu snarled at the insult, but two figures appeared at the entrance, capturing his attention as the more prominent threat in the room. 

“You called for us?”

“So these are the Fairy Tail mages we’re to kill.” 

Natsu nearly scoffed at the thought of these two losers getting the best of him (because they would have to go through him to touch even a single hair on Lucy’s head, though he’s sure she could handle herself).

Happy let out a gasp, pointing his paw at the two opponents in front of them. “That symbol…! Natsu, they’re from the Southern Wolf bodyguard guild!”

Dud Egg-head let out another annoying laugh. “Yes! These are the Southern Wolves! Prepare to die!” 

Natsu tensed, waiting for an opening to attack when apparently, the Southern Dogs noticed Lucy as well and also proceeded to gawk at her. It was obvious she was too enraptured by the book to take notice of anything else around her. It reminded him of Levy, but he wished that weren’t the case right now.

Egg-head twitched in anger, before pointing a pudgy finger in Lucy’s directing and shouting, spit flying everywhere. “Vanish Brothers, I want that book. **_Kill them and get it back!_ **”

Lucy let out a quiet gasp, something only Natsu with his dragon senses picked up on. Snapping her head to the side so quickly Natsu was half-heartedly afraid she would get whiplash, she looked at him with such a serious expression, anything he wanted to say died in his throat. “Natsu, buy me some time. There seems to be some sort of _secret_ behind this book. Give me fifteen… no… **ten** minutes to figure it out.” And with that, she ran out as fast as her legs could carry her.

Ever-dud began to shout something Natsu didn’t bother to pay attention to and dug himself out of the room like the freaky mole that he was. 

The dragon slayer let out a happy cackle, turning to Happy with a giddy and slightly-crazed look in his eyes. “You heard the boss; we have to buy her some time! Think this means she’ll let me go all out against them?”

Happy let out his own evil giggle, the adrenaline getting to him as well. “I don’t see why not!”

“I’m all fired up, now! Happy! Go after Lucy and make sure she’s okay! Ever-dud might get the drop on her if she’s too busy reading!”

Happy gave him a mock salute. “ _Aye, sir!_ Don’t take too long!”

This time, Natsu couldn’t hold back his scoff. “I’m honestly offended that Lucy thought I would need ten whole minutes to beat these guys.” And with that, Happy flew away at nearly his max speed.

The taller of the mercenary duo gawked at him in outrage, “Brother! I think he’s _really_ making fun of us!”

Natsu helplessly shrugged his shoulders. “What can I say? Lucy, as adorable as she is for genuinely worrying about my safety, is honestly kinda frustrating me with how little she seems to think about my fighting skills.” His eyes lit up and he hit a fist against his palm. “I KNOW! I can bug Gramps into making a fighting battle between Fairy Tail mages! Then I could show her how strong I am when I beat that ice prick in front of her!”

“ _ARE YOU EVEN PAYING ATTENTION TO US?!_ ”

Natsu turned towards them with a demonic grin, stopping them in their tracks. “Now normally, against small-fry like you, I’d hold back a bit.” An image entered his mind: one of Happy and Lucy curled up on her old, shitty couch, Happy smiling at him while Lucy had a soft expression on her face, as he entered the room. “But this time, I have people waiting for me. Unfortunately for you,” at this, his grin grew sharper, edging into cruel, “ **you’re in the way.** ”

Happy knew that Natsu would be okay, and turned his entire attention to searching for Lucy. As he reached the sewers, he heard her talking with Duke Everlue, the sound echoing around the walls, and began to fly faster. 

“ _What is the secret of the book? I demand you tell me what you found!”_

And with the most vitriol that Happy had ever heard Lucy use, she spat back, her voice vaguely pained. _“Y-You are the lowest of the low… you’re an enemy of literature!_ ”

“ _You dare to call me an ‘enemy of literature’?! I am a highly intelligent aristocrat!”_

“ _Agree… to disagree…”_

“ _Where is the treasure map? It’s where he’s hidden his fortune, right?! What’s the secret hidden in that book?!”_

Happy heard Lucy let out a pained grunt and sped up even faster.

“ _TALK! OR I’LL SMASH THE BONES IN YOUR ARM!”_

And no. That was not happening. Not on Happy’s watch. Speeding as fast as he could, he barreled into Duke Everlue’s arm, smiling to himself at the satisfying _crack_ that resounded throughout the sewers. Everlue let out a pained screech, letting Lucy go in the process.

His wings disappeared just in time for him to land headfirst into the water. 

“You little… just what kind of cat _are you_?!”

He mumbled something, the words getting lost as they bubbled in the water. Lucy understood him, however. “He says, ‘I’m Happy’.” She turned to him and gave him a disapproving look. “Get out of there, that’s dirty sewer water and it’s gross.”

Happy climbed out and proceeded to _really_ look at Lucy. 

She definitely wasn’t as trigger happy as Natsu and some of the other members of Fairy Tail, but Happy could tell she was in her element. Her pose was confident, as was her smile.

“It appears that the tables have turned. If you turn all interests in the book over to me right now, then I promise on my word as a celestial mage that I’ll let you go.”

“Ohoh… So you’re a celestial mage, eh? A well-read young woman you maybe, but it appears as if you are using your words incorrectly. ‘The tables have turned’ implies that a superior tactical plan has been rendered _inferior_. You won’t win against me and my diver magic just because you now have a small cat!”

Lucy stared at Everlue with carefully placed calm. “So it seems my suspicions about you were correct. You are a mage, after all.”

Everlue let out a hyena-like cackle, burrowing himself under the ground and popping back upright below Lucy, who jumped away in a graceful leap. “So you’ve figured me out!”

“It was written right there in the book. A horridly-written adventure story with Duke Everlue as the main character.”

 _What?_ Happy frowned at Lucy, confused. “What do you mean?”

Everlue began to chase after Lucy, who kept on dodging his attacks gracefully, leaping and spinning in the air fluidly as if she were dancing. Their game of cat-and-mouse continued for several minutes.

“The idea of having me as the hero was _wonderful_ , but it was the execution that was the problem.” Everlue began to visibly grow angry as he recalled _Daybreak_. “The very idea that Kemu Zaleon would write such trash… is insulting to me!”

Lucy let out a delicate snort. “That’s rather arrogant of you, wouldn’t you say? After all, you’re the one who _forced him_ to write the book.”

“It’s an _honor_ to write a book for one as great as me!”

Happy felt startled as Lucy began to visibly grow angry. “You **blackmailed** him into writing it.” Everlue tried to swipe at her legs, to which she dodged again.

“ _So what if I did?”_ Everlue had a disgusting smile plastered onto his face, twirling around that stupid mustache of his. _“I’m sure everyone would agree with me that it’s his own fault for refusing._ ”

Lucy looked at him in disgust, and Happy could feel himself copying her expression. “Just what kind of reasoning is that…?”

“A very, very, very important person such as myself ordered him to write a book about me, _and the idiot refused_! So I was kind enough to inform him that I’d revoke the citizenship of him and every relative marginally connected to the Zaleon name if he didn’t write that book!”

Happy gasped as he began to realize just how cruel Everlue was turning out to be. “But if you revoke their citizenship, then they can’t get jobs at any of the trade guilds or work guilds… can he even do that? Is that allowed?”

Lucy let out a small, bitter smile. “Unfortunately, there are some areas still under feudal rule. That man has total power over the lives of everyone in this town.”

“And in the end, the upstart _did_ write it. But naturally, his previous refusal annoyed me, so I had him write it in solitary confinement. I’ll take on any ‘accomplished writer’ who is too prideful for his station and I’ll _break them_!”

Everlue popped out of the ground again, but this time, Lucy was ready. She began to stomp the heel of her shoe as hard as she could against his head and grabby hands. “Never in my life had I ever met a man as vain as you! How could you put a human being through all that; do you have any idea what he was doing during those _three years_ in solitary confinement?!”

Happy gasped into his paws. “Th-Three years?”

Everlue let out a grunt of pain, moving away once more to assess the situation. “Meditating on my greatness, surely!”

“ **No**.” Lucy wasn’t shouting, but her voice was strong. “He was battling his own pride. On one hand, his loved ones were being threatened, but on the other hand, his integrity as an author would never allow him to write a book for one such as you.”

“ _You little spy!_ ” He snarled at her. “How did you find all of this out?”

Lucy held out the book, her head raised high. “It’s all in here.”

“ _Huh?!_ I read that book! Kemu Zaleon wasn’t even in it!”

“Ah, but you forget: before he became an author, Kemu Zaleon was once a mage.”

Since the start of the whole verbal battle, Happy noticed that Everlue’s eyes began to show a hint of fear in them. “Wha—you don’t mean…!” 

Lucy looked grim. “He put the last of his energy… into putting a spell on this book!”

Everlue began to visibly grow red in anger. “So you’re saying that there is a key somewhere to undo the spell and show his hatred for me? How insulting!”

“Don’t be so vain,” Lucy looked at him coolly, “Yes, the circumstances that lead to the making of this! book is all in here… but the **real** secret is something else, entirely.”

Everlue began to sputter in outrage. “Why you…!”

For the first time since Happy had ever met Lucy, she cut him off. “That’s why you’ll never get this book back. In fact, it’s more accurate to say that it was never yours in the first place.” She took out a golden key. “Open! Gate of the Crustacean Palace: Cancer!”

Happy felt like he could combust, he was so excited. (Lucy swore she could see stars in his eyes.) “Whoa, cool! It’s a crab! I bet he says ‘kani’ at the end, doesn’t he?! I know he does; it must be in the contract somewhere!”

“Happy,” Lucy gently cut off his rambles, “I’ll be happy to answer your questions later. But right now, I need to concentrate.” She turned toward her celestial spirit. “Our enemy is that man over there, I need you to keep him from using his diver magic and getting away.”

“You got it, ebi.”

“E-Ebi?! I thought he was going for a straight ‘kani’, but instead, he went with the ‘ebi’ hook. You can send him back now, Lucy.” He felt morose.

Lucy gently cuffed him on the head. “Now’s not the time, we’re in battle.”

“Noooooo!” Everlue began to shout. “I command thee, open! Gate of the Virgin Palace: Virgo!”

Lucy looked frozen in shock, and Happy wasn’t much better. _He could use the same type of magic as Lucy?!_

“ **You called for me, master?** ” Happy nearly squealed out in fright; it was that pink-haired gorilla from earlier!

Another thing caught Lucy’s eyes, and she broke out of her reverie. “Natsu?” She sounded disbelieving.

Happy turned and saw Natsu attached to Virgo’s clothing looking a bit out of it. Everlue gaped, and judging by Lucy’s visibly shocked expression, Happy wondered if their reactions had anything to do about the rules of being a celestial mage.

“Wha—? _Why would you be with Virgo?!_ ”

Lucy spoke up. “Natsu, how did you…?”

Natsu looked at her weirdly. “What do you mean? She started moving, so I decided I wouldn’t let her go without me.”

Everlue looked to be ready to nearly tear his hair out in frustration. “ _That makes no sense!_ ”

Seeing his confused expression, Lucy began to explain. “You shouldn’t be able to survive the spirit world, so theoretically, you can’t travel with Virgo.”

“Lucy, what am I supposed to do here?”

Duke Everlue had apparently gotten over his shock, for he pointed at them and began to yell with rage. “Virgo, get rid of these insolent vermin!”

“Natsu, you need to do something about her.”

The dragon slayer grinned. “Got it!” And without wasting another second, he lit his fist on fire and smashed it as hard as he could into the side of Virgo’s head, knocking her out of the count.

A movement near the corner of Lucy’s eyes caught her attention, and she turned with a severe expression on her face. “ _Not on my watch_ ,” she hissed viciously, “ _I won’t let you disappear underground again._ ”

She grabbed her whip and began to twirl it around, lashing it out and wrapping it around Everlue. Widening her stance, she twisted her body and pulled, causing the man to soar over her head. “Now, Cancer.” The crab jumped and met the man halfway. Once Everlue had landed (head-first, which knocked him out), Happy could see that he was now completely bald.

“Sir, was this the hairstyle you were looking for, ebi?”

They stared at the fallen duke for a moment, before Natsu began to laugh, Happy joining in right afterward. Lucy had let out a relieved sigh and a tiny smile, cradling the book gently to her chest.

“ _You sure made a show of it, huh, Lucy? That’s just the way a Fairy Tail mage would handle it!”_

“ _Aye!”_

“Wh-What’s the meaning of this?! I wanted it destroyed! That was the mission!”

Lucy looked on sadly at the man who’s life must have been filled with such pain. “It’d be easy to destroy it. You can do it yourself, Mr. Kaby.”

Kaby quickly snatched out of her hands. “Then I’ll do just that! I can’t bear to even look at the thing!”

“I understand why you must hate it,” she continued, her voice soft and accepting. “After all, you’re the son of Kemu Zaleon, aren’t you. You were trying to protect your father’s memory.”

“H-How did you know that?”

“Have you ever read the book?”

“No,” he spat, tone bitter, “And I don’t need to. Even my father said it was a load of dung!”

Natsu growled, visibly enraged, and Lucy immediately knew that Mr. Kaby’s cavalier approach towards his father’s book rubbed him the wrong way. She and Happy grabbed onto Natsu before he could grab the client or otherwise cause harm to him.

“So you’re going to destroy the book your daddy wrote? Just because it was boring?!”

“Natsu,” she strained, finding it increasingly difficult to keep him in place as his anger grew. “Please, calm down. He wanted that book destroyed _because_ he wanted to protect his father’s memory.”

Kaby, expression ashamed, began to tell them the even more tragic story of what happened when Kemu Zaleon came back. Of how he cut off his own arm. Of how in his hurt and anger, Kaby had spat harsh words at his father that inevitably lead Zaleon to commit suicide.

“It was probably that same weakness that leads me to hate him, even after death. But as the months turned into years, my hatred turned into regret.” Lucy saw Kaby tremble, choked up on emotion, and felt her own eyes sting with unshed tears. “If I hadn’t said such harsh words to him, then perhaps he wouldn’t have committed suicide.”

Natsu was calm now, looking at Kaby with an unreadable look in his eyes. Carefully, Lucy let him go, keeping an eye out just in case Kaby accidentally said anything else that set him off once more.

“So to atone at least a little, I wanted to find and destroy the embarrassing last book that my father had written. I wanted to protect the honor of my father’s name in the world.” He lit a match and looked at it forlornly. “I’d like to think that my father would agree with me, should he still be here with us today.”

But before he could finally light the book on fire, Lucy jolted forward. “ _Wait!_ ”

It gave him enough pause for the book to begin to glow, the spell wearing off.

Kaby let go of the book, startled. “What’s going on?!”

With a soft look in her eyes, Lucy began to explain. “Kemu Zaleon, no, I’ll use his real name, Zekua Melon, cast a spell on this book.”

“A-A spell?!”

The letters started floating around, and Kaby gasped at the new title. “ _Dear Kaby?!_ ”

“Exactly, the spell he cast allowed the letters to reform themselves. On the inside, too.” The book opened and a golden light showed inside, letters flying off the pages and practically dancing in the air in a beautiful display. “All of them.”

“Whoa…” Natsu gasped, looking enthralled at the display. 

Happy was in a similar boat. “It looks so pretty!”

“The reason your father gave up on writing might not be because he’d written his worst book, but because he’d written his best book of all time. The letter he wrote to you, Mr. Kaby, was the best book of his life. This is the true book that Kemu Zaleon left behind.”

“Father,” Kaby warbled out, tears falling freely from his eyes as he hunched over, cradling the book to his chest as he did so.

But even then, he was smiling. “I never really _did_ understand my father.”

Lucy gave him a small smile. “Of course you didn’t. If you understood everything in the mind of an author, then reading their books would be no fun.”

“ _Thank you_ , I think I won’t burn this book after all.”

Natsu spoke up. “Then we can’t accept the payment as well, huh?”

“Nope!” Happy agreed with him.

Lucy understood that they were right, but couldn’t help but internally despair over the financial security she was about to wash down the drain. She could have paid her rent at least a year in advance and still have money left over… 

Kaby and his wife looked at the duo, bewildered. “Huh?”

Natsu gave them one of his sunny, boyish grins. “Our mission was to destroy the book; we failed to carry it out!”

“N-No, but, that’s not what I meant…”

Lucy bit her lip and kept quiet.

“If we can’t accept it, then we can’t accept it.” He began to wave them goodbye. “Well, it’s time to go home! And the Melon family should go home, too,” Lucy felt her eyes widen in surprise and heard the couple as their breaths’ hitched. “Back to your **real home**.”

During their walk home, Lucy turned to Natsu. “Hey, Natsu? How did you know that the mansion wasn’t their real home?”

“They didn’t smell like the mansion. Anyone could have noticed.”

Happy snorted, and replied dryly. “Not everyone has a freakishly keen sense of smell as you do, Natsu, not even me.”

“ _Anyways_ ,” Natsu turned and gave Lucy a grin that she immediately began to distrust. “Yeah… I knew it.”

“Knew what?”

“Before this, those papers you were trying to hide, Lucy…”

Lucy felt herself freeze on reflex. 

“You’re writing a book, aren’t you?! It’s why you know so much about them!”

Lucy felt her face flood a bright red. “Please don’t tell anyone. I’m not good at writing yet and it’d be embarrassing if anyone were to read it.”

Natsu grinned at her. “Deal. But as the person who figured it out, I call dibs on reading it, first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's less that Natsu actually WANTS to read the book (because when would he ever willingly read a novel) and more to do with the fact that Lucy's the one who's writing it.


	4. What's Lullaby?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: I might have turned Lucy into somewhat of a mary sue when in comes to other's mental health. Sue me. This is a self-indulgent fic and I do as I please.

“Hmm,” Lucy peered out at the mission board. For once, she truly began to take notice of how much the missions varied: from reward money to difficulty to the skills needed to complete them. “Search for a magical bracelet… dispel a cursed staff… hunt down volcanic devils?”

She turned to Mirajane who gave her a happy wave. “Hey, Mira-san?”

Mirajane pouted at her. “I’m telling you, it’s ‘Mira-nee’!”

Lucy paused, stuttering for a moment. She knew that she would have to get used to the overly casual way everybody referred to each other and was slowly making adjustments. “My apologies, Mira-nee.”

“You’re fine, Lucy. What’s your question?”

“Oh, it’s not a question. I was just about to state that I never realized that the missions were so diverse.”

Mirajane hid a giggle behind her hand, smiling at her widely. Lucy couldn’t help but give a small smile back, charmed by how pretty it was. “Well, if you find a mission you like, just let me know! The Master is currently out right now, and won’t be able to approve of it. So, he left me in charge.”

Lucy hummed, walking over and sitting on one of the bar stools. “I’ve been meaning to ask; where is the Master? If it’s alright if I know, of course.”

Mirajane smiled at her fondly, bopping her lightly on the nose. “You’re so silly, Lucy. Of course, it’s okay if you know; it’s not like it’s a secret. He’s currently at a periodical meeting between the various regional guild masters.”

“They’re separate from the Magic Council, correct?”

“You got it, Lucy!” She turned to the man who was drawing on a canvas. “Reedus, can I borrow your light pen for a moment?”

“Ouí.”

Uncapping the pen, she turned to Lucy with a serious expression on her face. “Okay, make sure to pay close attention.” Drawing a tree diagram, she began to explain. “At the very top of the magic world is the government and the ten members of the Magic Council. They bring order and public safety and pass judgment to wizards who have committed crimes. Below them are the Guild Masters. One of their many tasks is to communicate the wishes of the Council, as well as keep open lines of communication between guilds of other regions.”

Lucy felt awed. “I never realized the guilds were so interconnected.”

Mirajane nodded in agreement. “It’s tough work.” Her expression turned much more serious, causing Lucy to frown. “The links between the guilds are important. If they’re not handled properly… then…”

“Hmm?”

“ **The dark guilds will getcha!** ”

Lucy let out a startled squeak, spinning on her heel to face Natsu, who had been grinning at her mischievously. He pointed at her and laughed. “What’s with that squeak? I totally scared you!”

She huffed, gently pushing away his face when he started to lean in too close for comfort. “Don’t scare me like that.”

“Ha, your new nickname’s gonna be Scared-y Lucy!”

“Please don’t give me weird nicknames without my consent.”

Mirajane cleared her throat, bringing their attention back to her. “Natsu’s not wrong, Lucy, the black ones really _do_ exist. They’re a guild that doesn’t belong to any league, they’re called _dark guilds_.”

Lucy paused and mulled over the thought. “That actually sounds pretty scary.”

“Yeah,” Natsu agreed, “They don’t follow any rules or laws and that can be pretty scary.”

 _So,_ Lucy thought to herself, _like you._ She didn’t voice it out loud, watching as Happy began to fly in lazy circles above his head. She cleared her throat lightly. “Pardon my intrusion, Natsu, but was there a reason why you’re here? Do you need me for something?”

“It’s your turn to pick out the mission this time, _duh_.”

Lucy stared at him, incredulous before she forced herself to smooth out her expression. “No, thank you.”

Natsu and Happy stared at her, gobsmacked. “ _But why not?!”_ Natsu whined, looking at her with hurt puppy eyes.

Lucy stared back, unimpressed. “You didn’t need my assistance; you were just looking for someone with blonde hair. Now that the mission is over; I’d assume we split up. After all, I’m not too keen to join someone because they want to use me.” Her expression remained unrelenting, even as Natsu and Happy’s expression turned even sadder. “You really shouldn’t look so sad. You both are very capable people and I’m sure there are many others here who are better suited for your fighting style and magic abilities. Now that you don’t need me, you should really start asking them to join in missions with you.”

Too busy staring down Natsu, she missed the way Happy’s eyes flashed with concern over her wording.

“But Lucy,” the blue cat spoke up, “out of everyone we could have chosen, we wanted _you_ to join. We wouldn’t have done that solely due to your blonde hair.”

“Yeah!” Natsu nodded his head vigorously. “We chose you because you’re so nice!”

Lucy pinked, quickly turning her head away in a futile attempt to hide her embarrassment. But before she could say anything else, a voice from behind them spoke up. “What’s with you guys? You don’t have to decide on a team immediately.” She turned around and noticed Gray eyeing them with a bemused expression.

“I heard about your huge success,” he continued, “I’m sure you’ll end up having more team requests than you know what to do with.”

Lucy tilted her head in confusion. “Unfortunately, I did not do much on the mission. Natsu was the one who did all of the hard work.”

Happy landed on her head, tail curling around the nape of her neck. “Don’t put yourself down, Lucy; you were Natsu’s self-control the entire mission and managed to keep him from burning that entire mansion down multiple times. If that’s not noteworthy, then I don’t know what is.”

Natsu turned towards his blue companion with a glare. “Jeez, Happy, I’m not that bad.”

Happy hummed in agreement. “You’re right, I was lying.”

“See—?”

“Normally, you’re even worse.”

“Gray~” Mirajane sing-sang, “Your clothes~”

The dark-haired mage gaped in response, realizing he had stripped down to his underwear. Lucy desperately wanted to know **how on earth** someone could form a compulsive stripping habit.

While Natsu and Gray began to argue ( _“Perverted stripper!” “Retarded flame-brain!”_ ), a man whom Lucy recognized as ‘Loki’ sauntered up to her. She immediately recognized him as a playboy before he even opened his mouth.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and the only reason why she didn’t smack his hand away was by how gentle he was being. That, and when she looked into his eyes, she could see the sadness and loneliness she saw every time she looked into a mirror.

“You really are stunning! Your beauty is radiant, even though my sunglasses!”

In a bold move she hadn’t known herself capable of, she gently cupped his face and pressed their foreheads together, for only a moment, before leaning back and looking him in the eyes. He looked startled; hands fell uselessly at his sides as if he didn’t know what to do with them.

“Loki?” Her voice was naught but a gentle whisper. “I understand how you feel; that crushing sadness that makes it difficult to even get out of bed some mornings. That’s why I’m telling you that you shouldn’t pursue me like that; I won’t make you happy. But if the loneliness ever becomes too much for you, know that I’m always here and that I’ll listen.”

When she had completely pulled back, she noticed him staring at her in a mixture of hope and fear and awe. But then his attention swerved to her keys hanging in their pouch, and his expression twisted into something she couldn’t name the emotion of.

Gently, and with trembling fingers, he removed her hands from his face, stepping out of reach. Stiltedly, he spoke to her. “I—'ll keep that in mind. Bye.”

“He doesn’t like Celestial mages, does he?”

She hadn’t even realized that she had spoken her thoughts out loud until Mirajane answered her. “I’m sure it’s something in his past that has to do with a woman.”

“Well, I hope he realizes that even if it’s not me, he has others here at Fairy Tail who care about him and his well-being.”

She blinked in shock as he burst back in through the door, looking terrified. “Natsu! Gray! I’ve got bad news; Erza’s returned!”

Lucy watched on in befuddlement as Natsu’s and Gray’s faces paled drastically before they began leaning against each other like they were old friends, all within the span of a few seconds. How scary was this ‘Erza’?

The entrance door swung open, and the most beautiful and intimidating woman that Lucy had ever laid her eyes upon walked inside, a horn easily twenty times her size held in one hand. Her eyes wandered to her gorgeous mane of scarlet-red hair.

“I came back just this minute; is the master around?” Her voice was just like the rest of her: pretty and intimidating. It held a tone that allowed for no-nonsense, and Lucy could appreciate the concept.

Mirajane was helping to clean up the mess at the bar, so Lucy answered in her stead. She kept her voice strong and steady, already pegging Erza as the type to become impatient when others didn’t cut to the chase. “The Master is currently at the League Meeting. But he’s been gone for a few days, so he should be back soon.”

Erza turned her attention towards Lucy, and the blonde could feel the way the guild held their breath, wondering how Erza would react. Erza let out a small smile, and the guild let out a collective sigh of relief.

“Is that so? I don’t recall seeing you around here; are you new?”

Lucy nodded her head politely. “I’ve just joined earlier this week. My name is Lucy. And you’re Erza, correct? It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine; I heard you took down two gorilla bodyguards, as well as a Vulcan on another mission. It would be nice for Fairy Tail to have someone strong like you.”

Lucy ignored the stab of self-doubt and failure, telling herself that she joined Fairy Tail to get stronger. “I’m afraid the rumors are incorrect. Both of those times were all Natsu; I just kept him from going too overboard.”

Erza chuckled, (and Lucy would forever deny her face turning hot at the sound) “That does sound like Natsu.”

Happy flew towards them, looking at Lucy in concern. “You really shouldn’t sell yourself short. Lucy managed to read the real book written by a mage powerful enough to leave a spell on the book that lasted for decades, even after his death within ten minutes; and stopped and defeated a corrupt noble from escaping and causing trouble for who knows how many people.”

Erza smiled and clapped Lucy on the back, hard enough to nearly cause her to stumble. “Well, in any case, you seem like a wonderful addition to Fairy Tail, even if the rumors weren’t completely accurate.”

“E—Erza,” a man hesitantly spoke out, “What’s that you’re carrying?”

“Oh, this?” She set down the horn with a heavy **thump** , “This is the horn from a monster that I defeated. The locals decorated it and gave it to me. I thought it looked rather pretty, so I brought it back as a present.” She turned her intense gaze towards the man who asked the question. “Why? Will there be a problem with it?”

“N-n-none at all, ma’am!”

Lucy sighed, realizing what the problem was. Yes, Erza was both beautiful and almost terrifying (if Lucy was being honest, she was slightly terrifying _because_ she was so beautiful), but she could tell the scarlet-haired mage was genuinely asking the question. It was just that she was too intense, and it caused her to scare some of the others.

“Perhaps we could move the chairs out of that one corner and place the horn there so it’s not in the middle of the guildhall and blocking people’s paths. Maybe we could even set up a stand for it that matches the pretty decorations the tribe gave it.”

Erza gave her a warm smile. “That sounds like a wonderful idea. I would enjoy talking about it more with you on a later date, but I have an issue that I need to deal with currently.”

“Then it’s a deal.”

Erza nodded decisively, before turning around, all hints of warmth in her gaze gone. “Unfortunately, I’ve also been hearing some things… about how you’ve been causing nothing but trouble.”

Whispering began to break out, and Lucy noticed several people with pale faces.

“The master might allow you to get away with it, _but I will not!_ ”

Pointing, she turned her attention to Cana. “Cana, you’re drinking at this time of day again? … And in those clothes?!” Cana blanched, carefully setting down her barrel of beer.

“Vistar, if you’re going to dance, then do it outside!”

“Wakaba, you’re dropping your ashes on the table!”

“Nab… don’t just stand in front of the request board! Pick a job!”

Erza sighed, rubbing her temples. “For pity’s sake, do I have to do everything myself?! Well, for today, I’ll let you be without saying anything.”

Gaze bemused; Lucy turned to Happy. “Is Erza part of a disciplinary committee?”

“She’s Erza.”

It shouldn’t have made as much sense as it did.

“By the way,” Erza turned her attention to Happy, “Where’s Gray and Natsu?”

“Aye,” Happy gestured to his right. Lucy felt her mouth part open in shock at how blatantly terrified both teens looked, sweating profusely as they clung to each other.

“H-Hi Erza. W-w-we’re the best of friends again today; j-just like every day!”

“A-Aye!”

“Really? Well, I suppose even best friends fight every now and again. Though I admit I like seeing you two like this.” Lucy couldn’t help but wonder if Erza knew that she was scaring them into behaving, or if she truly believed they got along as much as they were acting (and terribly, at that).

“W-well… we may not be **best friends…** every _minute…_ but...”

“Aye.”

“I’ve never seen Natsu act like that. Just how scared of Erza is he?”

Mirajane spoke up, a genial smile on her face. “A long time ago, Natsu challenged her and was beaten up pretty badly.” But Natsu was strong. Lucy’s opinion of Erza shot up.

“She saw Gray walk in the nude once, and beat him up, too.” Lucy felt slightly sympathetic but agreed that she was in the right.

“Loki was too forward with her once, and she ended up beating him within an inch of his life.” And… Lucy could honestly believe that, even without meeting Erza.

“Well,” Erza continued, drawing Lucy’s attention to her, “It’s good that you get along so well _because I have a favor to ask both of you._ ” By now, everyone in the guild was listening in. “When I was out on a job, I heard some disturbing rumors. I wanted to hear the Master’s opinions on them, but he isn’t here right now and time is of the essence. So, I’ll make the decision. **And I want you two to help me.** You’ll come along, right?”

Excited and shocked whispers broke out among the guild. Lucy couldn’t blame them: She’d been in the guild for about a week, and even _she_ could see the seemingly strained relationship between Natsu and Gray. Asking them to work together seemed like madness.

_“Is she seriously asking them to work together?!”_

_"I’ve never seen her ask for help on a mission before!”_

"What kind of job is it…?” Happy spoke up, looking the most serious that Lucy had ever seen him be.

“We leave tomorrow; make your preparations.” Natsu and Gray began to stammer out complaints, but Erza bulldozed right through them. “I’ll explain the details on-route.”

“Erza… and Natsu… and Gray…” Mirajane spoke up, wide-eyed and trembling. She looked shocked and slightly scared, talking more to herself than to Lucy. “They might just end up being Fairy Tail’s strongest team…”

**What?**

“Y’know, Lucy, if you keep following me on missions, I’m going to start thinking that you _do_ want to team up with me and Happy, after all.”

Lucy huffed, placing her hands on her hips. “Mira-san asked me to come along to mediate for you two since you can’t seem to get along whatsoever. Besides, if you two are too busy bickering amongst yourselves, then you’ll just end up in Erza-san’s way instead of helping her. I’m just here to remind you that there is a time and a place for everything, and fighting in the middle of what is probably a dangerous mission is not one of them.”

Gray looked away in embarrassment. “You don’t gotta worry, you know? Natsu and I know how to be serious when the situation calls for it.”

“I only fight with you because you constantly act like a stupid, perverted stripper.”

“Why you—!”

“Stop lollygagging and hurry up!” Lucy turned around and bit her lip to keep herself from gawking at the sheer amount of luggage that Erza brought with her. So, it was looking more and more likely that Mirajane was the only normal person in the guild (Levy-chan was a close second, but Lucy saw how… _enthusiastic_ she could get about her books). But that was alright, because Erza seemed amazing anyways, and Lucy may or may not have had a slight crush on her.

It wasn’t like it was anything serious ( ~~freak, dyke~~ ), more of admiration than anything else. After all, she had to have been completely blind to not realize that Erza was absolutely gorgeous.

“ _What’s with all that stuff?!_ ”

“Never mind that, now, we need to hurry.” Turning her attention towards the celestial mage, the scarlet-haired wizard spoke up. “You’re coming with us, Lucy?”

Looking at Natsu and Gray’s panicked expressions, obviously not wanting Erza to know that they don’t get along as well as she thinks they do, Lucy decided to have mercy on them and tell a white lie.

“I’m a celestial mage, so I have a well-rounded set of keys for a variety of different situations. Mira-san thought that I might be able to lend my assistance and asked me to come.”

Erza gave her a smile. “That sounds wonderful, Lucy, thank you for your help.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

From behind her, Natsu began pouting, “Why’s Erza so nice to her yet she beats _me_ up if I say even a single thing wrong?!”

“That’s because you’re an idiot.”

“What’chu say?!”

Very pointedly, Lucy cleared her throat, causing them to break apart with sheepish expressions. Happy landed on her shoulders, licking at his paw and grooming himself. “Mirajane sure gave you a difficult task, huh? Keeping them in line might honestly be harder than whatever Erza wants us to help her with.”

Lucy giggled lightly at the thought, scratching Happy behind his ears and listening to his chest rumble soothingly as he began to purr.

“Alright then!” Natsu declared, pointing at Erza, “I’ll come on this mission under one condition!”

Gray looked nervous as if he were about to witness a murder. “ _Dude, what are you **thinking**? Are you **insane**?!_”

“Oh? And what condition is this?”

“I want you to fight me when we get back!”

Happy guffawed, “Is Natsu a masochist? She totally kicked his ass the last dozen times he’s asked her to fight him.”

Erza smirked at him. “I accept. I hope you’ve been training, Natsu. You’re going to need it.”

Natsu grinned back at her. “You betcha! This is going to be the fight where I finally beat you!”

As predicted, Natsu became an absolute mess once they boarded the train. He was pale and sweaty and moaning pitifully, clutching at his stomach whilst he did so.

Gray sighed, “You’re so hopeless, Natsu. If you’re going to be so annoying, why don’t you just sit somewhere else? Or better yet, just run everywhere.” But his tone wasn’t mean, only mildly chiding. He seemed to have taken mercy on Natsu’s pitiful state.

“Erza… would have _urgh…_ kicked my ass… if I delayed everyone by running.”

Erza had an amused half-smirk on her face. “You know me so well.”

Gray sighed in exasperation but didn’t disprove the point.

Lucy gently began petting Natsu’s head and neck soothingly to relieve some of the tension. It was just a bonus that his hair was as soft and fluffy as it looked. “I know this happens each time you board transportation, but it genuinely looks rather painful.”

Lucy saw Erza crack her knuckles out of the corner of her eyes. “I guess there’s no other way. Natsu, sit here.”

Natsu moved to comply, but Lucy quickly put a stop to it. “Excuse me, Erza-san, but if you are about to do what I think you’re about to do, isn’t it better than you do it _after_ explaining the mission to us, so Natsu isn’t left out of the loop?”

Erza jolted, looking shocked, and Lucy knew she understood what she was talking about. “That’s right! I’ve been a fool! Lucy, please strike me for my lack of foresight!”

Eyes softening further, Lucy gently chopped her on the head. “Alright then, please remember to think things through next time.” Erza looked startled, while Gray yelped and cowered away.

Natsu groaned once more, turning their attention to the problem on hand.

Gray sighed in phony aggravation (because he looked more concerned than anything else). In the blink of an eye, the temperature in their compartment had cooled down several degrees, frost emanating from his hand as he placed it soothingly over Natsu’s sweaty forehead, sometimes rubbing the back of his neck as well. “This will just have to do until Erza explains what’s happening and she can finally get you to stop complaining.”

He turned to Erza, eyes holding a colder and more calculative glint towards them. “So, what’s up? You rarely ask for help.”

Erza nodded, “Let me explain… when I was coming back from my job, I stopped at a bar at Onibas where mages gather and some of the folk there caught my attention. They talked about collecting an item called _Lullaby_ and figuring out a way to unseal it. If they have to unseal it, then that means that it must be powerful magic.”

 _Lullaby…_ something niggled in the back of Lucy’s mind.

Gray looked confused. “I don’t get it. So what? You come across some folks wanting to break the seal of unknown magic, it might have just been their jobs. Nothing unusual.”

Erza nodded her head in deference. Lucy chanced a glance down at Natsu to make sure he was paying enough attention. The dragon slayer’s face was a sickly green, but he seemed to be making a conscious effort to listen in. Lucy pets his hair further, feeling rather sympathetic.

“I would have also thought the same. However, I then remembered where I heard the name _Eligor._ The Ace Mage of Eisenwald, _Eligor the Shinigami.”_

Lucy froze. She heard of Eligor, before… One of her father’s business rivals had hired him to…

Gray startled. “Sh-Shinigami?”

“It was a nickname he was given because he kept on taking assassination requests. The Magic Council has forbidden mages from taking assassination requests, but Eisenwald wanted money, more. Six years ago, the guild was ousted from the Mage Guild League, and is now categorized as a dark guild.”

Natsu let out another moan of pain and misery, and Gray grimaced in disgust as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Can’t we just get rid of him now? I’m sure he’s heard enough to understand what’s going on. Besides, just looking at him is making me feel sick.”

Erza gave Natsu a gentle smile, “Alright then, come here.”

As Natsu sat down beside her, Erza looped a protective arm around his shoulders. And proceeded to punch him in the stomach, hard enough to render him unconscious. Even though Lucy had been expecting it, it still made her wince to watch.

Gray cringed, letting out an audible _gulp_. Lucy did not fail to notice him sliding several inches further away from Erza.

“There,” Erza smiled in satisfaction, gently petting Natsu’s head, which was cradled against her lap, “That should make the trip a little easier on him.”

Lucy wondered if Mirajane really _was_ the only sane person in Fairy Tail, including Lucy. Because Lucy may or may not have a minor crush on _Erza_ , and she wondered what it said about her if her choice of a crush was any indication.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” she began, idly scratching behind Happy’s ears, “What type of magic do you practice? Out of everyone in Fairy Tail, I’ve only seen Natsu’s so far. Erza-san?”

“You may call me Erza, Lucy, you’ve certainly earned the right.”

Happy perked up from his seat on Lucy’s lap. “Erza’s magic is really beautiful! Plenty of blood comes out at the end… her opponent’s blood!”

He considers that beautiful…? Perhaps it’s the feline instincts that attract him to anything that might remind him of hunting.

“It’s nothing special, really. I, myself, think that Gray’s magic is far more beautiful.”

Lucy turned curious eyes towards him, “Your magic has something to do with the cold, doesn’t it?”

Gray sighed, looking amused. Within seconds, an exact copy of the Fairy Tail emblem made completely out of ice, rested in the palm of his hand. Lucy could definitely see why Erza called it beautiful.

“I use Ice-Make magic.” He turned his face away as if that could stop Lucy from seeing the way his cheeks flushed from embarrassment (and Lucy thought it was sort of cute how he tried to act all tough). “Here, this can be yours. My Ice-Make magic won’t melt under normal conditions, so you don’t have to worry about making a mess. Welcome to Fairy Tail.”

“Wait a minute,” Happy spoke up from where he was perched on Lucy’s shoulders, “Where’s Natsu?”

Gray winced, and Erza gasped at the realization. “We must have accidentally left him back on the train! Natsu isn’t good with transportation… this is all my fault! Lucy, please hit me!”

Lucy gave a sigh and a small smile, flicking the red-headed mage on her forehead. “Please remember to bring Natsu with us next time. And please learn to forgive yourself for accidental mistakes.”

“Alright then, I have to make this right!” Erza declared, walking up to an official. “Excuse me, sir, but I need to stop the train. It’s for my family, you see, he was still left on the train.”

“W-What? I can’t just stop an entire train because one person didn’t get off at their correct spot, are you crazy?!”

While he was busy yelling at Erza, Happy flew over and pulled on the Emergency brake.

“Thank you for your kindness, sir, my companions and I will be taking our leave now.” She did not wait any longer for the man’s blustering, his face puce with embarrassment and anger.

Gray was looking at Lucy as if she wasn’t human. “I’ve never seen anyone hit Erza without any sort of repercussions, and I’ve known her longer than at least half the members of Fairy Tail.”

She shrugged. “I’m sure if I had actually hit Erza with the intent to injure, she wouldn’t be so forgiving.”

“You’ve got balls of steel.”

Lucy wrinkled her nose at the unnecessary and crude mental image but thanked him for his compliment anyway.

By then, Erza had unloaded their bags on a poor couple who seemed to have no idea what was going on and had acquired a magic four-wheeled vehicle for them to chase after Natsu. Gray climbed in first and then offered a hand to help Lucy up.

“This is new.”

“I dunno,” he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck and averting his gaze, “Something about the way you act reminds me of a princess. I thought then, that as a man, I should be a bit more chivalrous to you.”

Lucy gave him a soft smile and gently squeezed the hand she was still holding. “Don’t worry about silly things like that. I know Fairy Tail can be rather brash, but that’s just part of its charm. Besides, the best version of you is when you’re being yourself. Although, it _is_ sort of cute that you worry about things like that.”

She trailed off, looking at him wryly. “But I would do something about your clothes.”

Gray looked down and yelped when he saw that he was only wearing his boxers. “HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN?!”

Happy perked up. “Look! The train’s up ahead!”

Erza grimaced. “They managed to start it up again. If we don’t hurry, we might not make it in time.” Lucy watched with muted concern as she saw Erza pump more of her magic into the vehicle. It would be bad for her if she ran herself ragged before the fighting even begun.

In the end, they didn’t have to worry for Natsu jumped out of the train, colliding head-first into Gray. They both toppled to the ground, and Lucy whipped her gaze around to see if they were alright.

“Natsu! Are you okay?” Erza called out.

They both appeared to be fine (and ready to fight if Gray’s expression way anything to go by).

Gray snarled at Natsu. “What was that, you punk?!”

Natsu looked him dead in the eyes and said, “I have amnesia from the shock. Sorry, who are you again? You smell.”

Gray squawked in outrage. “This bastard…”

Natsu’s eyes lit up when he saw the others. “Happy! Erza! Lucy! You guys are so mean, leaving me on that train back there!”

Gray looked at the group blankly as the others gave the dragon slayer an apology. “That’s some pretty convenient amnesia you got there.”

“Well, in any case,” Erza slammed Natsu’s head against her chest in what Lucy could tell was supposed to be an affectionate gesture. But with her armor, he looked to be in pain, instead. Lucy watched with sympathy. “I’m glad that you’re safe.”

Natsu growled, wiggling out from under her hold. “Safe? This punk tried to pick a fight with me!”

Erza stared at him in shock, before anger overtook her features. “YOU FOOL!” She shouted, smacking him hard enough to send him flying. “THOSE WERE EISENWALD’S PEOPLE! WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP THEM?!”

Surprisingly, it was Gray who cut in. “The loser made the correct choice. You know how he is at transportation; so it’s better that didn’t follow the guy and actually end up injured when his motion sickness renders him unable to fight.”

“Hey, Natsu,” Happy spoke up, “Did you happen to find out anything about Eisenwald or Lullaby?”

“Actually, yeah.” He looked contemplative. “It’s this creepy flute with a skull head at the top. On the head are three eyes.” He turned towards Erza. “I only took a brief glance at it and I already dislike it. It’s magic… I don’t know what type of magic it holds, but it made my hairs stand up on edge. **It’s wrong.** ”

Lucy jolted as if an invisible string connected to her pulled her forward. Three-eyed skull…

The feeling that niggled at the back of her mind blew to a full-time alarm.

“Hey, Lucy?” Happy spoke up, concern visible throughout every pore. “I’ve never seen you look so scared; what happened? Did you figure something out?”

“I, um,” she swallowed thickly, and tried again, “I used to read all types of books before joining Fairy Tail. There is this one story that I only thought was a myth or an urban legend, but the description of the flute sounds exactly like it.”

Even Erza was looking at her with a hint of concern. “It’s okay if you can’t remember everything. Just try your best and we’ll work it out from there.”

Clenching her fists at her sides to stop herself from trembling, Lucy managed to spit out. “That flute is The Lullaby. Lullaby… the magic of death!”

She watched, a tad hysterically, as everyone else began to pale.

“What?” Erza ground out.

“I’ve only read about it in a book. But among Forbidden Magic, there is such a thing as ‘Murder by Curse’, correct?”

“Yeah,” the red-headed mage replied, “Just like its name, it will curse the target and cast “Death”. It’s black magic.”

Lucy felt herself smiling bitterly, ruefully. “Lullaby is worse than that. Originally, it was simply a tool for those who used ‘Murder by Curse’, but then the Black Mage Zeref found it and developed its magic. Now it’s identified as a ‘Mass Murder Curse Magic’; magic that will put a death curse on anyone who will listen to it!”

Erza did not waste time, shoving them all back into the vehicle and racing towards the train station with reckless speed. Not even Gray could get her to use her magic more conservatively.

Lucy watched Natsu and Happy interact with a vague sense of detachment. Her mind was too busy racing through her thoughts and speculations on why a guild like Eisenwald wanted Lullaby. She had to figure it out quickly, before the lives of _who knows how many people_ were forfeit.


End file.
